Divorce

Going through a divorce battle or legal separation can be one of the most stressful events of one’s life. Our Lakewood divorce attorneys and Lakewood legal separation lawyers understand all the legal implications of Title 14 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, the law in Colorado which determines – along with the facts that are unique to each case – what a Court will do in a divorce, specifically with marital assets or a couple’s children.

When faced with a divorce or legal separation that involves money or children, it is important to keep things in perspective. While our clients are typically unfamiliar with the divorce laws that our Lakewood divorce attorneys use to prosecute and defend their rights, our Lakewood divorce lawyers and Lakewood legal separation attorneys like to remind our clients that when all the clutter is cleared away, there are only, ultimately, two issues in every divorce case: money and children.

Money is an issue that the Lakewood divorce attorneys of the Bagley Law Firm, LLC like to break down into three simple questions. These questions pertain to those couples going through a divorce:

1. What are the marital assets and how will they be divided?

   In Colorado, there is no need or requirement that one party be shown to be “at fault” before being granted a divorce. While infidelity and dishonesty might be very real, and may result in strong feelings of loss and betrayal, they are irrelevant when attempting to argue that one party should – or should not – receive more of the marital estate than the other party when getting a divorce.

   Every single asset owned by either party is presumed to be marital property in a divorce. This means that everything a husband and wife own, is deemed to be owned together. However, if one party can show that an asset was acquired and owned before the date of marriage, it is very likely that the asset will be deemed by the Court to be that party’s “sole and separate” property, meaning that the property is awarded in the divorce to the party to which it belongs (before dividing the marital assets).

   Colorado is also not a state wherein the Court must divide everything “50/50” in a divorce. In Colorado, the divorce judge must divide it “equitably,” or fairly. More often than not, however, a judge, much like a parent dividing a cupcake between two children, will give each party half in a divorce, as half typically equates to fair.

2. What are the marital debts and how will they be divided?

   Much like assets, a Lakewood divorce lawyer must advocate to the Court the client’s position on debt. Typically, a debt will be assigned to a party according to the assets assigned to a specific party (but not always). For instance, a car might be assigned to one party in a divorce along with the monthly car payment (but not always), or a house will be assigned to one divorce party along with the mortgage responsibility (but not always).

3. How much will one party pay to the other in maintenance (i.e., alimony)?

   In Colorado divorce law, alimony is referred to as maintenance. The Lakewood divorce attorneys and the Lakewood legal separation lawyers of the Bagley Law Firm, LLC are adept at understanding the financial requirements of Title 14 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. In recent years, many changes have occurred as to how maintenance is calculated in Colorado divorces. What might appear to be a clear-cut case of maintenance being owed is anything but the case.

Call our experienced Lakewood divorce lawyers and Lakewood legal separation attorneys today at (720) 815-4824 to consult with a divorce attorney regarding your financial rights. Pre and post divorce financial survival could depend on the quality and caliber or the attorney whom you chose to represent you.