Aurora, CO Divorce Attorney
Divorces can be overwhelming and stressful for spouses ending their marriage. However, working with an attorney experienced in divorce law can help make a difficult situation more manageable.
YouLaw is a firm that prides itself on providing clients with a full range of services to make their divorce more collaborative and avoid unnecessary conflict that wastes time and money. Divorce in Aurora can often be a streamlined process, especially with a lawyer working on your behalf. Through mediation, you and your spouse can usually come to terms on several important issues affecting your family and finances. YouLaw’s goal is to provide you with excellent legal services and representation while encouraging a collaborative process that can lead to a quick and satisfactory resolution for all involved.
Contact YouLaw Colorado at (720) 815-4421 for a free evaluation of your case with our divorce attorney.
Situations Where a Divorce Attorney Can Be Helpful in Aurora, CO
Known legally in the state as the “dissolution of marriage,” divorce is never an easy process. Most spouses worry that their divorce will be contentious and drawn out, as they are often portrayed. Fortunately for those contending with divorce in Aurora, our divorce attorney can help you with various crucial matters so you can confidently move forward with your life. It is often best to have a lawyer working on your behalf during a divorce, as the consequences can be felt for years after. The following are some common divorce matters where the help of a lawyer makes all the difference:
Uncontested Divorce
If both spouses agree that the marriage is beyond saving, they might be able to save a great deal of time and money by filing for an uncontested divorce. While some states require spouses to have “grounds” justifying the divorce, spouses in Aurora only need to agree that their marriage is irretrievably broken to get an uncontested divorce, according to Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-10-110(1).
Our lawyer can help you start your uncontested divorce by filing your dissolution of marriage petition with the county court clerk. If you and your spouse file jointly as co-petitioners, you will save money on court costs and have to complete additional steps. If filing separately, you will need to pay your own court costs and have the county sheriff’s office serve the petition on your spouse, as per Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-10-107(4)(a).
Before filing, you will want to make sure you meet the requirements for an uncontested divorce. In addition to the marriage being irretrievably broken, you must also have lived in the state for more than 90 days, according to Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-10-106(1)(a). If children are involved, though, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-13-201(1)(a) requires spouses to have lived in the state for 182 days before filing for divorce.
In many cases, an uncontested divorce can be completed without even going to court by filing an “Affidavit for Decree without Appearance.” If you meet the requirements above, including having no children, and agree on the division of property, your affidavit should be improved. However, divorcing parents will need legal counsel and an agreed-upon parental responsibility plan allocating for their child’s needs and the amount of support to be provided by both parents to avoid a final court hearing, according to Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-10-120.3(1)(a).
Divorce Mediation
Often, the best way to deal with the unfortunate situation of divorce is through mediation. Divorce mediation is an alternative to litigation that the court requires spouses to undergo before having a final divorce hearing in court. A mediator will guide the sessions between the spouses to help them decide how assets will be split, and childcare will be handled. This alternative offers many benefits over a drawn-out divorce trial.
For instance, a divorce could be finalized in just a few sessions since less paperwork is involved. Depending on the circumstances, your mediation might conclude in a “one-and-done” session where you and your spouse resolve your issues in a single session. This also makes mediation a less expensive option than traditional divorce.
Mediation also tends to be far less stressful and adversarial than divorce litigation. Mediation encourages collaboration and communication between spouses rather than blaming them for past transgressions. Our lawyer can help you during mediation so that your interests are protected and avoid a final hearing in court.
High-Asset Divorce
Individuals with many assets or high net worth often have specific issues that arise when going through a divorce. There will likely be questions about how to divide assets acquired before and after the marriage. One of the biggest concerns spouses have in these cases is whether their partner is hiding assets from them. Our firm can review your records to determine whether assets are being hidden in different accounts.
Our attorney can also help you determine which assets are yours by law or legal instrument. For instance, you might have a prenuptial agreement that dictates how assets from the marriage will be split while keeping your assets from before the marriage. You can also usually keep gifts or inheritances you received during the marriage.
Child Support
One of the most important issues in a divorce involving children is how child support will be allocated. Fortunately, mediation offers parents an opportunity to negotiate child support payments that recognize each spouse’s financial resources. Spouses can determine how much support should be provided, how long it should be provided, and how future adjustments should be made. If the spouses cannot come to an agreement during mediation, the court will decide on custody by assessing both parents.
Parental Responsibility Agreements
Determining parental responsibility often accompanies child support negotiations. Parental responsibility agreements are used to handle child custody in Aurora. Like other issues in a divorce, these agreements can be ironed out during mediation. If both parents agree to the terms of the agreements and are represented by counsel, the court will usually accept the plan as long as it does not conflict with the best interests of the child.
Spousal Maintenance
Our attorney can also help you negotiate alimony in your case. Alimony, known in Aurora as “maintenance,” is financial support made to a spouse following divorce. Depending on the financial circumstances of the spouses, alimony might be reasonable. For instance, if one spouse was able to focus on their career and income while the other spouse took care of the home, alimony might be necessary to help the other spouse get on their feet. If maintenance is contested, the court will decide whether maintenance is fair.
Our Divorce Attorney in Aurora, CO Can Legally Support You During this Difficult Time
Call our dedicated divorce lawyer at YouLaw Colorado at (720) 815-4421 for a free assessment of your case today.