Colorado Divorce And Family Law Blog

Dividing property is a big part of divorce, but when you have kids, it can become even trickier. You want to make sure that you have the right items in your home for them and that you have what you need to provide for them. That can make dividing your assets tricky, since there are two households to consider.

For parents, the first thing to consider is having the right supplies for their children. For example, if your child has medical equipment, it's time to double up and have two sets, one for each home. If your child has a favorite toy, it may be time to buy another or to set up a plan for making sure that toy travels between households safely.

Imagine that you work hard for the majority of your life, steadily building a retirement fund that will allow you to travel and enjoy your elder years without financial concerns. You also spent those years married to the person you thought you would be with forever. Raising a family, buying and selling real estate, taking vacations and making memories together for 30 years. Then, suddenly, it all falls apart. Your spouse of 30 years tells you they want a divorce. Just like that, you are in danger of losing half of the retirement funds you worked so many years to save.

This scenario is becoming more and more common in today's society. Late in life divorces are happening at higher rates than ever. When younger couples get a divorce, they likely have not been building on a retirement plan for long, and will have many more years to rebuild. However, when older couples choose to go their separate ways, they do not have the luxury of time on their side. There will not be enough years left to regain what they will lose financially in the divorce.

It is a well-known fact that divorces can be nasty. They can be stressful, vindictive, time consuming, expensive, anger fueled, emotional apocalypses if we let them. The good news? They don't have to be that way. There are other options to obtaining a divorce rather than duking it out in a courtroom. The option we want to tell you about today is what is known as collaborative law. It is becoming more common in divorce and child custody matters.

If you have ever heard the term "come to the table", then you understand the basis of a collaborative divorce. It is just that. Both parties, their respective attorneys, the children and possibly even therapists or financial advisors literally all come to the table. It is there that all will have a calm and reasonable conversation to try to settle all outstanding matters. Negotiations and disputes take place in a respectful manner. Open communication and transparency take the place of secret conversations and strategies.

Divorce is a particularly precarious situation for any immigrant who is seeking permanent resident status. Most immigrants who enter the country based on marriage are considered conditional residents. They are granted a two year period of lawful residency, and must meet certain conditions prior to becoming a legal resident. A divorce within that two year time period immediately raises some red flags with authorities who become tasked with determining whether the marriage was used for immoral immigration, or whether the union was legitimate.

One of the ways in which immigration authorities determine whether a marriage was out of love, rather than need, is looking at whether a child was born between the parties. If so, it is far less likely that the marriage was entered into solely for the purpose of obtaining citizenship. Custody negotiations in a divorce involving an immigrant are a complex matter with much to take into consideration. It is a far less common occurrence for an immigrant to birth a child, rather than just marry a U.S. citizen, to obtain permanent status. Occasionally, the spouse who is a legal citizen will use the immigration status of the other as a means to leverage custody disputes. These can be intense, stressful discussions which most parties would likely not place themselves into voluntarily.