Jefferson County Family Law Blog

When Colorado couples decide to divorce, the family home can be one of the most difficult items to divide. It is often a family's largest single asset, while many owners also carry substantial mortgages. The home often also carries a significant amount of emotional weight. The question can be more complex when children are involved, as parents may be concerned about displacing their children at the same time they are dealing with the changes that accompany a divorce. Still, there are several primary ways that people can handle the family home when separating.

While many people are attached to their homes, selling the house and dividing the proceeds is often the cleanest way to deal with it in a divorce. This is often the preferred option if the house is too costly for either spouse on their own. If this is not the case, one spouse could potentially buy out the other. In some cases, they may exchange their interest in another family asset, like a retirement fund, for their interest in the equity in the home. In other cases, they may need to take out a mortgage to cover the other spouse's equity interest.

Judges in Colorado take into consideration a variety of factors when determining which parent will get custody of the children as the parents go through a divorce. The main goal judges have when looking at these factors is to determine what will be in the best interests of the child.

Some things that they will consider concerning the children include their ages, how well they could adjust to new circumstances, and their health. Judges often prefer to maintain consistency, which sometimes means that custody will be granted to the parent the child is already living with. However, this is no hard rule. As the children get older, judges may be more willing to look at other living arrangements as the children may be able to better adjust as they mature.

When parents in Colorado divorce, they may be worried about the process of negotiating child support. Unfortunately, media depictions of adversarial divorces may be the cause of this concern. While court battles between a divorcing couple may attract public interest, the reality is that many parents can amicably negotiate child support payments between themselves.

Even in divorces where parents have bitter feelings toward each other, there is usually a mutual desire to protect the best interests of the children. It is from this basis that spouses can look past their personal differences and work out financial and custodial solutions that make sense for their family.

When parents in Colorado divorce, both spouses are usually interested in protecting the best interests of their kids. Even even if spouses are bitter toward each other, they're usually capable of getting past this and respecting the custody arrangement. In some cases, however, a parent may have significant concerns about the safety of their child while visiting or living with the other parent.

While it's common for divorced parents to have some minor disagreements about child-rearing, rules and household discipline, having legitimate fears that a child may be in danger are much more serious. These concerns could include emotional abuse, exposure to the other parent abusing drugs and physical or sexual abuse. A parent may also be concerned that the ex is associating with people who might also pose a danger to the child.