There are many people in Broomfield and the greater Boulder and Denver areas that may have a real need to live separately from their spouses. However, for moral, financial or emotional reasons, they may not wish to go through the process of ending their marriage through a legal divorce.
For Colorado residents in these circumstances, a legal separation may be their best option. Unlike a divorce, a couple remains married in the eyes of the law after a legal separation and thus is not free to marry again. On the other hand, depending on their circumstances, there may be tax, health care and other financial incentives associated with staying legally married.
Another catch in the process is that if either party objects to a legal separation, the court will divorce the couple instead.
In just about every other respect, divorce and legal separation work basically the same in Colorado. In other words, the Colorado court will allocate parental responsibilities, establish child support and spousal maintenance according to the law, and divvy up the couple’s property in a fair and equitable manner.
As in the case of a divorce, sometimes resolving these sorts of issues can be difficult. Parents may, for instance, disagree about parenting arrangements, child support or even something as fundamental as who should have custody over the child most of the time. Moreover, the couple may disagree about how to divide up their property.
Even when there are relatively few disagreements, there are still a lot of details that have to be worked out during a legal separation. Many of these details require knowledge of the law and legal procedures.
Those Broomfield residents who are interested in pursuing a legal separation in Colorado should consider speaking with an experienced divorce and family law firm in the area.
