Online Divorce in Colorado: All You Need to Know

April 10, 2021 Awais Ahmed

Divorce proceedings are almost always complex and stressful. Every little thing can unsettle you and derail the success of your original plan. Therefore, choosing a strategy and studying all possible options for achieving your goal is crucial.

You may be surprised to learn how much easier your preparation for filing for divorce and marriage dissolution can be if you take advantage of modern web services before initiating a divorce and filing a petition. Due to the variety of online divorce services, you can choose one which suits your case best.

Online divorce sites are at your service, ready to provide you with paperwork. You only need to pick a service, complete a questionnaire to provide the personal details about your case, and the website’s algorithms will generate completed divorce papers for you to file. Most of the sites even guarantee acceptance of the documents by the court.

In this article, we collected basic information about online divorce in Colorado and some recommendations on how best to file for divorce yourself.

Of course, the so-called “divorce over the internet” is not a function per se, but working with web services will help make your divorce proceedings more efficient and comfortable. The key to the success of your process and interaction with legal institutions directly depends on your erudition in matters of your rights and obligations. After all, the one who owns the information – owns the world!

Starting the Divorce: Act as the Petitioner

To start the divorce process while representing yourself, you’ll need to complete the divorce forms. You can obtain these forms online from the Colorado Judicial Branch’s divorce and family matters divorce index. Although these are official Colorado forms, individual counties may have additional requirements. You should double-check with your local court clerk about your county’s rules before filing.

The required forms may differ depending on whether the couple has children and whether the spouse is the petitioner (a person who requests the divorce) or the respondent (a person served with divorce papers). If parties don’t have any minor children (meaning kids who are financially dependent on you and who aren’t legally emancipated), they need to use the divorce forms for self-represented parties without minor children.

Special online divorce services can save you time and hassle. They provide you with all necessary divorce documents filled out based on the details of your case, following the county and state court requirements. When completing forms, you should answer each question thoroughly and honestly.

Qualifying an Uncontested Divorce Case: Basic Requirements

In Colorado, an uncontested divorce is referred to as a “decree upon affidavit,” which means that the court can grant your divorce after you submit an affidavit rather than you showing up in court for a hearing. To be eligible for an uncontested divorce by affidavit, you’ll have to meet a set of requirements.

As a rule, this set includes residential requirements (the spouses have to live in Colorado for more than 90 days); common property requirements (the spouses do not have marital property or have signed a separation agreement that spells out how it will be divided); family status requirements (the spouses agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken).

It is also required to show that the petitioner served the respondent with the affidavit according to state law. Whether spouses have children or not, it’s a good idea to sign a separation agreement, which states exactly how they want to divide any property, assets, or debts. Although parties can get an uncontested divorce without an attorney, they can still hire an attorney to review the separation agreement and make sure it meets the court’s requirements.

If spouses do have children, they will need to make sure that the separation agreement also addresses child custody, visitation, child support, and spousal support. Basically, making your case qualified as an uncontested form is the first step when you’re planning a DIY divorce.

The Key Reasons to File for Divorce Without an Attorney

For a couple looking for a dignified resolution to their differences, an uncontested divorce is an excellent choice. You can avoid a courtroom full of lawyers by choosing an amicable dissolution. It’s a quicker and easier route. Once a couple settles on the terms and conditions of their divorce, it’s merely a matter of filing the paperwork with the court.

At the same time, most parts of an uncontested divorce case can be resolved in private, without the need of an attorney. Divorcing parties will need to bargain with each other to settle their affairs. This will require them to communicate in a friendly manner to avoid the need for assistance, which leads to additional costs.

Choosing the uncontested divorce route is less stressful. Contested divorces regularly get ugly, especially when it comes to determining alimony or child custody. If spouses can put their differences aside and reach an amicable agreement to file for a no-contest divorce, this will save both of them a lot of time, money, and unnecessary stress.

Even though the spouses must file final negotiation statements in the local court, there is no legal obligation to disclose any agreement between spouses. The only thing that is freely accessible to the public is the petition filed in the court. Any personal negotiations or conditions that the couple agreed to can be kept private.

The Importance of Being a Responsible Client

Thus, if you sum up all the above advantages of cooperation between divorcing married couples and using online divorce services, it becomes obvious that in most cases, it is invaluable. Paperwork preparation by web services allows spouses to manage their divorce case without an attorney and independently collect all the necessary papers for a petition. In addition to this, the private information about parties’ family items remains confidential.

It is in the best interest of spouses to do everything necessary to ensure that their case is considered uncontested. With the help of online divorce services, getting completed divorce forms is faster, more comfortable, inexpensive, and affordable. They just need to be a responsible service user and keep the process under control!