Legal Procedures for Divorce, Separation, and Custody

PRE-DECREE INFORMATIONAL CLINIC DIVORCE, LEGAL SEPARATION, CIVIL UNIONS & ALLOCATION OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES WHAT TO KNOW? WHAT FORMS DO I NEED? WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE?

Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce) WHAT KIND OF CASE ARE YOU FILING? Legal Separation Dissolution of Civil Union Allocation of Parental Responsibilities (Custody)

HOW TO GET STARTED 1). Decide whether you want to retain a lawyer to represent you, consult a mediator, or represent yourself (also called Pro Se) 2). Get the correct forms needed to start your case 3). File your forms with the Court.

WHAT FORMS TO USE 1). Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce) AND Legal Separation: You will need 2 to 4 initial forms to start the case depending on whether you are filing as Co-Petitioners (meaning that you both complete and sign the Petition for Dissolution) or if you are filing alone as Petitioner and having the other party served with the paperwork. A. Case Information Sheet JDF 1000 B. Petition for Dissolution/Legal Separation JDF 1101 C. Summons JDF 1102 D. Waiver of Service JDF 1102 (a) AND Return of Service JDF 1102(b)

PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION or LEGAL SEPARATION Things to remember: Be sure to check the appropriate box in the title for either Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation. If you have children also be sure to mark that box in the title as well. Dissolution is Divorce, while Legal Separation is the exact same process, EXCEPT the parties will still be married and there is a minimum 6 month waiting period after orders are issued to convert it to a Divorce. This conversion will cost an additional $105 when requested by the parties. Read the Notice on the last page which gives information on the automatic injunction. This also applies for the Petition for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities.

Question 19 asks what orders you want the Court to enter in your case Status of the Marriage always check this box because that means that the Court changes the status of your marriage from married to divorced (or legally separated). Maintenance (spousal support) this refers to what used to be called alimony. This box MUST be checked. Division of property and debts you have to check this box if you have ANY assets. The assets DO NOT have to be in joint names to be considered marital assets. You can have assets solely in your name and it can still be considered a marital asset. So, if you have any assets at all or debts (student loans, credit cards, hospital bills, etc.) you should check this box. PETITION FOR DISSOLUTION or LEGAL SEPARATION cont.

SUMMONS AND RETURN OF SERVICE If you are filing alone (with no Co-Petitioner), you must arrange to have the paperwork served on the other party (the Respondent). This happens AFTER you file your forms with the court and pay the filing fee. There are 2 ways to complete service: Waiver and Acceptance of Service This is the easiest form of service - however, your spouse must be voluntarily willing to accept the papers & sign the waiver. If they agree to this, have your spouse sign the waiver and file it with the court. The 91 day waiting period does not start until this is signed. Personal Service you can arrange service through the Sheriff s Department, a private process server, or someone you know over the age of 18 who is not involved in the case. They will need to hand the Respondent the paperwork and fill out the Return of Service completely and accurately. Then you will have to file it with the Court.

WHAT IF THE OTHER PARTY IS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND? If you are not able to locate the other party, you would need to make diligent efforts to try to find them. Take notes on attempts for service, phone numbers called, internet searches completed, etc. The instructions to fill out the form are JDF 1300, and the form is JDF 1301. You will have to pay to have the summons published in a local newspaper to be able to serve the other party and move forward with your case.

WHAT FORMS TO USE 2). DISSOLUTION OF CIVIL UNION: on whether you are filing as Co-Petitioners (meaning that you both complete and sign the Petition for Dissolution) or if you are filing alone as Petitioner and having the other party served with the paperwork. Case Information Sheet JDF 1000 Petition for Dissolution of Civil Union JDF 1250 Summons for Dissolution of Civil Union JDF 1251 Waiver of Service JDF 1251 (a) AND Return of Service JDF 1251(b) You will need 2 to 4 initial forms to start the case depending

WHAT FORMS TO USE 3). Petition for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities (Custody) is to be filed when the parties have children together but are NOT married: You will need 2 to 4 initial forms to start the case depending on whether you are filing as Co-Petitioners (meaning that you both complete and sign the Petition for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities) or if you are filing alone as Petitioner and having the other party served with the paperwork. Case Information Sheet JDF 1000 Petition for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities JDF 1413 Summons JDF 1414 Waiver of Service JDF 1414(a) AND Return of Service JDF 1414(b)

FILING FEES Dissolution of Marriage / Legal Separation / Dissolution of Civil Union: $230 Petition for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities: $222 **The filing fee must be paid at the time you file your paperwork with the court.*** If you are unable to pay the filing fee you can request to waive the filing fee. You would fill the request out and have a clerk review it when you are filing your case. If you qualify under the income guidelines, they may grant you a waiver of the fees. This motion must also be filed at the same time you file your initial paperwork. You will need the following forms: Motion to Waive the Filing Fee JDF 205 Order to Waive the Filing Fee JDF 206

GENERAL INFO FOR DISSOLUTION Requirements: 1. Your case must be filed in the county where you or the other party resides. If there are children, you must file in the county where the child lives or spends the majority of their time. 2. Either party must reside in CO for at least 91 days prior to filing the Petition. The child or children have to have lived in CO for at least 6 months. 3. There is a mandatory 91-day waiting period before the Court can enter the decree. If you and your spouse file as Co-Petitioners, the 91-day waiting period begins on the date the papers were filed with the Court. However, if one party files as Petitioner and serves the other spouse, the 91-day waiting period begins on the date the Petition is served, or the date the respondent signs the waiver of service. Your divorce will take at least 91 days, and may take longer, depending on the circumstances in your case.

GENERAL INFO FOR APR Requirements: 1. A Petition may be filed by a person other than a parent who has the physical care of the child(ren) for a period of six months or more if the case is filed within six months of the termination of such physical care. 2. A Petition may be filed by a person other than a parent for the child in the county where the child(ren) is/are permanent resident or where the child(ren) is/are found, but only if the child is not in the physical care of one of the child(ren) s parents. 3. The children must reside in Colorado for a minimum of six months prior to the filing date or since birth if under six months of age. 4. Your case should be filed in the county where the children reside. 5. Parenting Education classes are required.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE BEEN SERVED WITH PAPERS FOR DIVORCE OR APR You need to file a Response to the Petition with the court and provide the other party with a copy. You must pay the filing fee of $116 when you file your Response. Your Response is due 21 days after date of service. If you are served outside the State of CO, you have 35 days to file the Response. For a Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation the form you would use is JDF 1103. For Dissolution of Civil Union the form would be JDF 1252. For a Custody case the form would be JDF 1420.

Once your case is filed, it will be set for an Initial Status Conference with the Family Court Facilitator approximately 42 days from the date you filed. You will be given the date upon filing your case. These are usually set for an hour if children are involved, and 30 minutes if no children. At the ISC the parties and counsel (if any) shall be prepared to discuss what issues, if any, are settled and what issues remain for resolution. INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE (ISC) If the parties are not in agreement by the end of the ISC, the court will require parties to go to mediation at the parties expense. Pursuant to Rule 16.2(e)(2) the required Mandatory Disclosures and Sworn Financial Statement are to be exchanged between the parties by the time of the ISC but no later than 42 days after service of the Petition. (JDF 1104 and JDF 1111) Currently, all ISCs scheduled with a Family Court Facilitator are being conducted by telephone, and not in person.

INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE (ISC) cont. You are able to bring any forms you have to the Court Resource Center, so they can review those completed forms before you file them to make sure they have been filled out correctly. Ideally, try to have the majority of your paperwork completed 7-10 days before your ISC is scheduled, so the Family Court Facilitators have time to review your paperwork beforehand. The parties can file the Affidavit for Decree without Appearance (JDF 1201) if there are no children and the parties are both in agreement. If all the paperwork is completed, correct, and turned in beforehand, the court may waive the parties appearance at the ISC. This is a rare occurrence, however, so parties should still be prepared to attend the ISC.

SWORN FINANCIAL STATEMENT (JDF 1111) You must provide true and accurate information to the Court about ALL of your assets, debts and income. This financial statement must contain current personal and financial information to determine whether the Separation Agreement is fair to each party. You should put anything in your name or joint names on your own Sworn Financial Statement. DO NOT put anything that is solely in the other parties name on your statement.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE (JDF 1104) This form has checkboxes for the Mandatory Disclosures that need to be provided to the other party. JDF 1125 helps explain how much of each disclosure needs to be provided. Both parties will individually fill out this form and provide disclosures, alongside the Sworn Financial Statement (JDF 1111) This form is required!

MOTION TO COMPEL If the other party does not exchange the required Mandatory Disclosures under Rule 16.2 you can file a Motion to Compel with the court and ask the court to compel the other party to give you copies of those documents. You would file JDF 1105 Motion to Compel with the court and provide a copy to the other party.

MOTION FOR TEMPORARY ORDERS If you want to have the court make temporary orders regarding finances, custody, visitation, etc. during the interim of the case, you can file a Motion for Temporary Orders. The form (JDF 1106) indicates the individual topics available for temporary orders, including a box for other. You would just check the boxes that apply. Once the Motion is filed, the court may set the hearing for you, or require you to set it yourself.

To complete the Child Support Worksheet you will need to sign up with a free account with Family Law Software. This is a web-based program that once you have signed up, you can use it at home or at the Court Resource Center to print a child support worksheet. To find the program, visit www.courts.state.co.us, click on the tab for Self Help/Forms, then click on All Court Forms and Instructions. Next, choose the category for Family Matters, and then choose the subcategory Child Support-Calculate. CHILD SUPPORT WORKSHEET Once you click there, you will see a blue link that says Access the Family Law Software. After making an account and receiving a confirmation email, you are able to go in, enter your info, and the program will calculate the amount of child support for you. You need to know how much money each party makes and how many overnights each parent has with the children in order to complete the worksheet. You must then print it out and file it with the court and provide a copy to the other party.

SEPARATION AGREEMENT and PARENTING PLAN Separation Agreement (JDF 1115 for Divorce or JDF 1256 for Civil Union) is for property and debts, and the Parenting Plan (JDF 1113) is for parenting time, decision-making and child support. In Divorce cases, if you have an agreement with the other party you will BOTH complete and sign one Separation Agreement together. This is not needed for APR cases. The Parenting Plan is required only in cases (Divorce or APR) when children are involved. If you do not have an agreement, you may still individually submit your own versions of the Separation Agreement and/or the Parenting Plan. Check the box that says no agreement. Fill out and sign the document, and indicate how you sent a copy to the other party by completing the Certificate of Mailing at the bottom of the form. Make sure to keep a copy for yourself as well.

MAINTENANCE ADVISEMENT FORM This is for Divorce Cases only. This form MUST be completed, regardless if the parties want maintenance (alimony) or not. The purpose of the form is to show the parties what maintenance could be, IF the parties wanted it. Both parties are just signing they acknowledge the calculation and they understand it. NOT that they are wanting to pay or receive maintenance. There is a question on the Separation Agreement where the parties would indicate they have competed this form and whether or not they want maintenance.

DEFAULT JUDGMENT You cannot put the other party in default yourself. Default happens when one party does not comply with the court orders, such as filing a Response to a Petition; doesn t appear at the Initial Status Conference or is essentially not participating at all. Once the party is found in default he/she will have no say in the case, UNLESS they file a Motion to Set Aside the default judgment and the Court grants the motion. The party that is in default is responsible for filing the Motion to Set Aside the Default Judgment.

The purpose of the Certificate of Service is to show the court that you gave a copy of this document to the other party or parties involved in this case, and that they are given a chance to respond to the Motion you filed. This MUST be filled out on documents filed and signed by one person. If this Certificate of Service is not filled out, the court cannot address the motion you filed.

Court Captions Must Be Completed Please ask for assistance if necessary County Court District Court ______Jefferson Jefferson Court Address: 100 100 Jefferson Jefferson County Golden, Golden, CO CO 80401 County, Colorado County Parkway Parkway 80401 COURT USE ONLY Plaintiff/Petitioner(s):Timmy v. Timmy Jones Jones Defendant/Respondent(s): Tammy Tammy Jones Jones Attorney or Party Without Attorney (Name and Address): Tammy Tammy Jones Jones 1234 1234 Main Main St St. . Any Any Town, Town, USA USA 56789 56789 Case Number: 21 21DRXXXXX DRXXXXX Division 1B 1B Courtroom E-mail: youremail@email youremail@email. .com com Phone Number: ( (970 FAX Number: Atty. Reg. #: 970) ) 123 123- -4567 4567

PERMANENT ORDERS If both parties are in agreement and no children are involved, the court can just issue a decree after 91 days have lapsed. The decree would just be mailed out to both parties, rather than the parties attending a hearing. The parties would request this by filing JDF 1201. If parties are in agreement and there are children involved, you will have a non-contested hearing with the Magistrate where your agreement would be entered as a court order and the decree of dissolution or APR would be issued. If the parties are NOT in agreement your case would be set for a Permanent Orders hearing or trial in front of a Judge, not Magistrate. Each party would present their case, including witnesses and evidence (if necessary) and the Judge would make the final decision on financial and custodial issues. The Notice of Initial Status Conference and Case Management Order (provided by the court at time of filing) will have information on how to determine when your Witness List and Exhibit List are due to be filed and exchanged, if necessary.

HELPFUL RESOURCES The Court Resource Center has information regarding clinics, brochures and handouts, discount attorney information, etc. Court Resource Center info: 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Suite 2530 Golden, CO 80401 720-772-2501 01SelfHelp@judicial.state.co.us Court Judicial Branch Website for forms: www.courts.state.co.us