Jefferson County Family Law Blog

Many successful Colorado couples are between the ages of 25 and 40 with one or several children in their families. If you're a spouse that fits this category, and you happen to be headed for divorce, then you can likely relate to others in similar situations who are most concerned about protecting their finances. Whether you've been married five or less years, or have been with your spouse for a decade or more, you've worked hard to get what you have.

It is a fact that divorce costs money. However, there are definitely ways to keep costs low. What may be even more important is thinking of the long run and not only of making sure you get all that you're entitled to during property division proceedings. You can take steps to protect yourself financially throughout the divorce process. 

When you got married, getting divorced one day was not an option in your mind. However, things happen and life changes, sometimes in very unexpected ways. When you made the decision to divorce, you were worried how it might affect your children. The good news is that children are highly adaptable.

When kids have difficulty coping with divorce, it's usually because of the way the adults in their lives are acting. Perhaps you'd like more than anything to work as a team with your ex, but it's just not possible because he or she has a toxic personality. In fact, that might have been a causal factor in your divorce. The more you understand about narcissism, the likelier you can co-parent without compromising your rights or your peace of mind.

Fathers in Colorado who sought shared custody of their children after a divorce during the majority of the 20th century were often unsuccessful. During that time, the family courts would almost always favor the mothers when considering how to award child custody. However, in the last three decades, there has been a substantial shift in how child custody is awarded: Family courts are beginning to encourage mutual agreements that favor shared parental custody arrangements.

One of the two kinds of child custody is legal custody, which gives parents complete control over the decisions regarding their children's healthcare, religion, education and any other aspects of their well-being. The other type of child custody is residential or physical custody, which is determined by where the children reside at night.

Colorado couples often look at three basic options when determining what to do with the marital home after a divorce. These include retaining the original joint mortgage, refinancing the joint mortgage or assuming the original mortgage. Each option has its pros and cons.

When a couple decides to retain the original joint mortgage, both spouses will make payments for the joint mortgage while just one of them lives in the home. This option usually only works when the divorcing parties still trust each other. If they do not and one of them misses a payment, it could damage both of their credit scores.