Divorce or Legal Separation cases typically involve three areas – children, support and property distribution. Parenting time and decision-making responsibilities concerning children are best made by agreement between the parents. If the parents cannot reach an agreement concerning their children then the court shall enter orders it deems appropriate and in the best interests of your children.

Colorado is an equitable distribution state when marital property is divided between spouses. Equitable distribution does not necessarily mean equally distributed property, though we generally start with that marital property distribution as a goal. Certain factors however, may result in a property split on an otherwise equal basis. Some of the property issues that you can expect to be addressed within your divorce or legal separation case are the house(s), pensions, retirement funds, self-employed spouses operating their own businesses as sole proprietorships/partnerships/S-Corporations, and gifts made between spouses.

Child support is set by the Colorado Child Support guidelines. Child support is payable until a child turns nineteen years of age or if the child emancipates prior to age nineteen. Spousal support orders are generally made either on a temporary basis or for a number of years. For a spousal support award at final orders the court's analysis focuses on the needs of the spouse requesting support versus the ability to pay of the spouse from whom support is requested.

These type of cases involve situations where the parents of the child(ren) may not be married and the parents are seeking to establish legal rights and responsibilities related to the child(ren). In all cases involving children –whether the parents are married or unmarried – we encourage our clients to resolve parenting time issues with the other parent. If a parenting time agreement cannot be reached, the court shall enter orders it deems are in the child(ren)’s best interests. The Court shall also establish a child support order as determined by the Colorado Child Support Guidelines. Colorado law states that child support may be paid directly from the paycheck of the parent responsible for paying the support amount.

Our firm is one of a few firms in this region of the country that handles international child abduction cases. The Hague Convention is a treaty that applies when children are wrongfully removed from their home country (“habitual residence”) and transported to another country. The terms “wrongful removal” and “habitual residence” have specific meanings within the context of the treaty. Most international child abduction cases revolve around the location of the child(ren)’s habitual residence and whether they were wrongfully removed from their country of habitual residence. We have extensive experience with many state and federal court Hague Convention child abduction cases and have represented clients from Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Holland, Indonesia, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States of America in these types of cases.

In certain instances, an individual other than a parent my seek care and control over a child(ren). These cases may arise when one or both of the natural parents cannot care for the child(ren), or the parents may have died, or the parents have abandoned the child(ren). The person seeking care and control of the child may then petition the Court to grant them guardianship and, therefore, full responsibility over the child(ren)’s general health, education, welfare and – in some instances – financial affairs.

Married couples, soon-to-be-married couples and those who choose to live together but not marry are increasingly turning towards written agreements that fix each partner’s respective rights/duties towards each other in the event their relationship ends. The positive attributes of these agreements are that they avoid the emotional and financial costs of a contested divorce or property distribution.

We provide mediation and mediation/arbitration services to assist couples in resolving their divorce or legal separation case.

The collaborative divorce process consists of the spouses and their lawyers
signing a binding agreement that requires them to reach a negotiated
agreement on all issues related to the divorce case. Each spouse is represented by a specially trained attorney throughout the divorce process.

The initial consultation is an important first step in the process of hiring an attorney, as it is a chance for you to have your questions/concerns answered. The consult is also an opportunity to see if we are a “good fit” in terms of a lawyer/client relationship. No two cases are alike, but we do our best to answer your questions during the initial consultation about your case. We discuss your concerns, case resolution options, likely outcomes and other questions you may have. Additionally, we try to give you a reasonable estimate as to what you can expect in terms of fees and costs. We charge a $75.00 flat fee for an initial one-hour consultation.

If you decide to hire us we require an initial retainer from our clients, which usually ranges from $3,500 to $5,000. Vince's hourly rate is $250.00 per hour while Meghan and Kendra’s hourly rate is $125.00 per hour. The retainer you pay us is then deposited into a trust account from which we account to you on a monthly basis as to the work performed, the time spent on that work and remaining balances in your trust account. Any balance remaining in your trust account at the end of your case is refunded back to you.

Please contact us via the link below if you would like to arrange a consultation with us. We look forward to meeting you.