There are plenty of misconceptions when it comes to which parent will receive child support, and exactly how much that amount will be. Fathers often ask if mothers are awarded child support more often than fathers. The truth is Colorado Courts are fairly gender-neutral when it comes to determining matters of child support. The most crucial factor in determining how much child support is paid to whom depends more on your particular family’s facts than the gender of the parent with the most parenting time or the highest income.

Child support in Colorado is based on child support guidelines by statute. The Colorado Legislature created a series of calculations whereby parties can easily determine the amount of child support applicable in a particular case. The parties can simply plug in the number of overnights each parent has with the child, and the gross monthly incomes of both parties, and the child support calculator provides an approximate dollar amount for child support. Other issues that could affect the child support amount is whether either party is paying for child care costs, health insurance for the child, and whether either party has financial obligations to another family or child.

There are several theories as to why moms are more often on the receiving end of child support. Historically, mothers tend to be the primary caregivers for the children while dads have typically been the breadwinners of the family. Translating to divorce, this may sometimes result in the Court awarding moms more parenting time, and thus, moms might have more overnights with the child than dad. More overnights with one parent is a major factor in determining which parent receives child support.

The parent who plays the role of the breadwinner may more often than not have access to health insurance through his or her job. Health insurance for a child is another important factor in determining child support costs, and the parent providing the health insurance for the child may be credited for providing that insurance. Other costs which factor in to the total amount of child support are the costs for child care. Parents may struggle with caring for their child without the other parent’s assistance, and may need to pay for child care while he or she is at work. The cost of child care may be considered and credited in determining the amount of child support.

Although Colorado Courts do not favor mom or dad, women may simply be at a disadvantage when it comes to overall incomes, and thus be entitled to receive child support more often as a result. Factors such as the number of hours worked, the choice of occupation, and maternity leave weigh heavily into women’s incomes. In addition, the type, duration and quality of jobs traditionally held by women earn roughly 75 percent of the salary men would earn for the same job.

According to the 2008 United States Bureau of Labor statistics, unmarried women with children earn less than unmarried women without. The opposite is true of unmarried men with children; they typically earn less than unmarried men without children. As a general rule, married workers of both sexes earn slightly higher than their unmarried co-workers. There is very little difference in the earning capacity between the sexes of married people with children and married people without.

What does this all mean? It means that women typically earn less than men, women with children typically earn less than women without children, and unmarried women with children typically earn less than those unmarried women without children. Lower salaries for women with children effect child support when mom and dad both put their gross monthly incomes in the child support calculation. When one parent earns less than the other and has more parenting time, that parent will likely end up receiving child support from the higher-earning parent.

Of course, in this day and age, family law attorneys have seen every possible combination of employment, incomes, and child care expenses. Mother’s are not typically favored to receive child support any more than they are typically favored in any other situation. The Court is interested in the facts of the particular family, and since child support is technically the right of the child, and not either parent, the Court intends to make sure the child is provided for.

To determine how much child support applies in your case, or whether certain deductions are applicable for you, contact an attorney experienced in family law and calculating child support.

Josh Sauer, Colorado Family Law Lawyer

Although child support obligations are determined by the application of a fairly thorough statutory scheme, the actual calculation, and amounts or details that comprise the various factors input into the calculation, remains a point of substantial litigation.

One of the more potentially complex factors is determining a party’s gross monthly income. This determination is particularly difficult when attempting to determine the income of a self-employed individual. The guidelines are developed to, among other things, promote adequate and fair support for minor children. Accordingly, the statute is written to identify every conceivable source of income, so that an individual owing child support cannot shirk his or her financial obligations to a child by simply increasing contributions to a retirement plan or diverting business income to cover personal expenses.

While the broad definition of income is laudable in its goal to secure adequate support for minor children, sometimes the application of the guidelines can be misapplied to improperly assume certain benefits to be income to an individual.

Accordingly, although child support worksheets can be used to determine child support obligations, the assistance of counsel is highly beneficial to ensure that an appropriate, fair and correct amount is calculated.

Brandi Petterson - Colorado Divorce Lawyer

Okay, so you’ve reached the conclusion that you and your spouse just aren’t going to be able to make it work and you are ready to file for a divorce.

You have two options: hire an attorney or do it yourself. If you intend to hire an attorney, it’s helpful to gather your thoughts before you request an initial consultation. For example, be prepared to explain the history of your relationship; whether there were instances of abuse during the marriage; where you intend to live after the divorce is finalized, especially if children are involved; the respective roles of each party during the marriage, such as whether both parties maintained employment or one parent was a homemaker; and whether you believe that there will be contested issues between the two of you. This information will help your potential attorney identify possible areas of conflict and other issues that will be important to resolve during the divorce process.

However, if you decide that you are ready to proceed with a divorce but don’t want to enlist the services of an attorney, one resource available to the parties is the Colorado Court’s website, located at www.courts.state.co.us. Not only does the website contain information about the different venues available to file for a divorce, but it also contains instructions and blank forms—free of charge—that are imperative to navigating through the divorce process without an attorney. These instructions and forms are located under the tab “Forms” on the top of the page. From there, you can choose the “Domestic/Family” option.

Additionally, if children are involved, the Court will likely require that the parties submit child support worksheets. These forms are also available on the website above, but there are two formats: manual and electronic. It’s important to read the instructions regardless of the format you choose to complete.

If you begin the divorce process as a pro-se party and then suddenly, you realize that you are overwhelmed or simply decide that you want to ensure that your interests are best protected, you are not barred from retaining an attorney. Typically, you can retain the services of an attorney at any point before the Court hears the case during Permanent Orders.

Clients faced with parenting time issues often ask where the court’s loyalty lies when it comes to who gets custody - does the court favor mom or dad? Today, the term “”custody” has been replaced with “parenting time”, and it’s not just the terms that are changing with the times. Although fathers are often quick to raise a suspicious eyebrow, the answer is the same no matter who asks the question. Colorado Courts are remarkably gender-neutral, and the most important factors used to determine which parent is entitled to more parenting time really depend on each family’s specific facts.

Mothers may seem as though they have an advantage before the court in terms of parenting time because moms tend to be the primary caretaker in the household, especially in terms of caring for infants and younger children. However, having a stay-at-home mom is no longer the norm. In many Colorado homes, the economy has forced both parents into the workforce, or in the alternative, fathers are taking off their ties and pushing up their sleeves as stay-at-home dads.

So how does the court decide who gets how much parenting time? The standard the court uses, and which every parent should plant firmly in their head, is that of the best interest of the child. The court gives principal consideration to the child’s physical, mental and emotional needs. Courts also want to encourage frequent and continuing contact between each parent and the child.

By Colorado statute, the court considers a myriad of factors for establishing parenting time, including, but not limited to: the parents’ wishes, the child’s wishes, the child’s involvement with family, school and the community, the ability of the parents to encourage the sharing of love and affection between the child and the other parent, the health of the parents and the child, and which parent has primarily cared for the child in the past. Other factors the court will consider are whether one parent perpetrated spousal or child abuse, or abused drugs or alcohol.

The best parenting schedule really depends on each family’s particular situation. In a great many cases, splitting a child’s time equally between parents may be the best thing for a family going through a divorce. Depending on the proximity of each parent’s home, it may be in the child’s best interest to have portions of the week split between each parent, such as the child spending school nights at one parent’s home and weekend nights with the other parent. Splitting parenting time during the week gets significantly more difficult the farther apart parents live. That distance may warrant a parenting schedule where the child lives with one parent during the school year and the other parent during vacation time.

Whether parents are able to reach a parenting schedule negotiating and agreeing between themselves, or whether parents require a court to help make those decisions for them, each parent should understand that their children are not something to be won or lost in the divorce.

If you are considering a divorce or separation, consult a family law attorney experienced in parenting schedules to advise you as to what kind of plan would best suit your family’s needs.

Jason A. Márquez, Colorado Family Law Attorney

Parties in a divorce or allocation of parental rights and responsibilities action generally file a Parenting Plan or the Court issues an Order regarding parenting rights and responsibilities.  Even with a carefully laid out plan, it is nearly impossible for the parties or the judge to make predictions about the future.  There are a multitude of issues that may arise which are not addressed by a parenting plan or a Court order.  Examples of such issues include: choice of doctors, choice of schools, major-medical expenses, post-secondary education, relocation, extra-ordinary expenses, religion, etc.

One of the first things to consider is a whether the current plan or order has a conflict resolution provision.  Often times parenting plans include an alternative dispute resolution requirement.  If the parties are unable to reach an agreement about a conflict that may arise, they may be ordered to mediate or arbitrate the dispute before seeking court intervention.  Even if there is no such requirement in the parenting plan, the Court may still require the parties to attempt alternative dispute resolution before permitting the filing of a motion seeking modification.

If mediation or arbitration is unsuccessful, a party seeking to modify the current orders may file a motion requesting a modification.  A filing fee is generally associated with the motion as it will often reopen a closed case.  Depending on the nature of the relief requested, the Court may issue a Domestic Relations Case Management Order.  This Order will establish the procedure required to adjudicate the motion.  The Order often requires the parties to file disclosures, conduct discovery or hire experts much like the original proceeding.  Ultimately the Court will schedule a hearing to address the parties’ dispute and issue another Order.  In the alternative, the parties may reach an agreement and file a new Parenting Plan which addresses a resolution of the existing and preferably, future disputes.

There are several standards to consider when contemplating a modification of parenting rights and responsibilities.  In general, an emergency motion to modify parenting time requires a showing of significant endangerment or imminent harm.  A motion that requests a modification that will result in a schedule which changes the parent whom the children live with a majority of the time requires a more complex showing.  In such cases, the court considers many factors including but not limited to:  mental and physical health of children, wishes of the parents, wishes of the children (if relevant), ties to community, proximity of the parties, etc.  A motion that requests minimal modification will generally require a showing of the best interests of the child.

Modification proceedings are often much more complex than the original proceedings that allocated parenting rights and responsibilities.  An experienced attorney and a well written parenting plan are important in an original proceeding.  They can help reduce potential disputes and court intervention in the future.  Many times, parties do not hire an experienced attorney or file an adequate and comprehensive parenting plan.  These people find themselves in Court more frequently as children get older and their needs begin to change.  Like so many other situations in life, it’s important to get things done right the first time.  If it’s too late for that, let an experienced family law attorney help evaluate and prepare for the future.  An experienced attorney will have insight into the multitude of situations that may arise in your particular situation.  Let’s get it right the second, third or fourth time as the case might be.

Brandi Petterson - Colorado Divorce Lawyer

Individuals facing the dissolution of marriage process often seek to have spousal maintenance awarded to him or her. There are many reasons for wanting to be awarded spousal maintenance, but perhaps the most common reason deals with a disparity in income between the parties. For instance, it is not uncommon for the parties to agree that during the marriage, one party will forego a career, or work part-time, in order to raise the parties’ children and the other party will be the primary “breadwinner.” It is perfectly acceptable for the parties to have defined each other’s role in the marriage. However, it is also understandable that the parties’ may not have considered the long-term ramifications of this type of decision. One of those ramifications may concern how each party will support himself or herself after the divorce is finalized.

As such, the party who cared for and maintained the home and raised the children may have surrendered his or her career to do so. Further, if this was your agreement during the marriage, and suppose you were married for 15 years, you suddenly have to devise a plan to make ends meet on your own. In this instance, you will very likely be seeking spousal maintenance and will have two options: statutory and contractual.

Statutory maintenance is the type which is awarded by the Court. The Court may award maintenance for such amounts and for such periods of time that the Court deems just. The Court will consider several factors, set forth in C.R.S. § 14-10-114, including the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, which may include marital property apportioned to him or her; the time necessary to acquire education or training sufficient to enable to party who requests maintenance to find suitable employment, as well as his or her future earning capacity; the standard of living established during the marriage; the duration of the marriage; the age and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance; and the ability of the other spouse to meet his or her needs while paying maintenance to the requesting spouse.

Contractual maintenance is the type which results in the parties reaching an agreement about how much maintenance will be paid, and for what duration of time, to the requesting spouse. This may be beneficial to the parties, as it takes the matter away from the Court to decide and eliminates the uncertainty as to what the Court may or may not award. It may also be beneficial because the parties may agree that the contractual maintenance is never modifiable by a Court. Ever. Whether maintenance is awarded  by the Court pursuant to statute, or contracted for between the parties without clear language designating the maintenance as non-modifiable, the general rule is that maintenance is modifiable upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unfair.

David Donnelly - Denver Family Law Attorney

After several years of experience with divorces, and talking with so many people who have gone through the divorce process, I have seen the light.  There are countless reasons that people get divorces, but the most commonly occurring one is financial troubles.  When I say financial troubles, I do not necessarily mean that there is just not enough money to make ends meet, but instead, I see much of the time, situations where husband and wife just cannot see eye-to-eye and agree how to address financial issues.  It could be as simple as a one person’s fetish for shoes or golf, or it could be how much you spent on your new smart-phone, or it could be more mundane issues like whether you pay your bills on time.

When I was younger, I always thought that Pre-Nuptial Agreements, also known as Ante-Nuptial Agreements, were unfair, biased and manipulative agreements entered into in bad faith by one party with much to protect, and by the other party under duress.  I don’t think so anymore.

What I have learned over the years is that it is really beneficial to the success of a marriage, to have an understanding of what each party’s role will be in the marriage.  How will each contribute?  Who will pay what bills?  Because so many marriages end in divorce, statistically more than one-half, the chances of marriage succeeding, are increased by entering into a Pre-Nuptial Agreement which can provide this type of guidance to the parties. 

This type of agreement can assist both parties in understanding how money earned during the marriage is going to be spent and by defining it accordingly.  By providing the parties an already agreed upon road-map on how finances will be spent during the marriage, Pre-Nuptial Agreements lessen the stress, especially the stress which may ultimately lead to a dissolution or legal separation.  

John Henrick - Denver Family Law Attorney

There are several options with regard to collecting past due child support.

The first decision is whether you want to retain private counsel to assist you in collecting past due child support or start an action with Child Support Enforcement, which is a service provided by the State of Colorado.

The first option to attempt collecting past due Child Support is a Wage Garnishment. Many child support orders have a clause that allows one to garnish wages of the paying party once payments become overdue or missed. Either a private attorney or child support enforcement can prepare and serve the garnishment paperwork on the parties employer. A party can garnish the current child support payment and some portion of the overdue support.

The second option is attaching to tax refunds. If the nonpaying party is at least three months behind you can take the nonpaying parties income tax refund. This can only be done by Child Support Enforcement.

The third option is to Lien Property. You can get a judgment from the Court and attach that judgment to the nonpaying parties real estate. Putting a lien on property is easy to do, however there is no guarantee that the property will be sold anytime soon and therefore repayment may not occur for quite sometime.

The final option, that will be addressed in this blog, is a Contempt Motion. Hiring private counsel is the quickest and most efficient way in submitting a Contempt Motion to the Court. When meeting with private counsel please be prepared to provide us with the following information. A copy of the child support order. The nonpaying parties name, address and social security number. The current employer of the nonpaying party, if you know it. The amount and last payment of child support you received. How much the nonpaying party owes you and a description of any efforts you have made to collect the past due amount.

Jason A. Márquez, Colorado Family Law Attorney

All too often one or both parties in a divorce action have criminal backgrounds or have open criminal cases.  These criminal cases can often play a significant role in divorce proceedings.  They can impact the allocation of marital property and more importantly, impact the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities.

The influence criminal cases have on the allocation of marital property is more straightforward.  A party to a divorce proceeding who hires a criminal defense attorney to represent them in a criminal proceeding is usually charged with the legal fees.  In other words, using marital funds to pay legal fees is often considered a misuse of those funds.  In such cases, the opposing party is often given credit when the court allocates the marital debts and assets.  For example, a debt to a criminal defense attorney will likely be entirely allocated to the party who incurred the debt.  In the alternative, that same party may forego an allocation of marital assets equal to the amount of funds spent on legal fees.

Perhaps the more complex and damaging effect of criminal cases occurs in the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities.  The level of damage is generally determined by the nature of the charges, the number of cases, and the outcome of those cases. 

• Nature of charges.

Parties charged with domestic violence, sex crime, drug/alcohol, assault, child-related and other similar crimes will face the most difficulty in acquiring parenting rights and responsibilities.  The consequence of these charges may often lead to restricted parenting time.  The restrictions may also include supervised parenting time, monitored sobriety, therapy, etc.

• Number of cases.

Generally speaking, the more cases a person has been a party to, the more problems they will have in a divorce proceeding.  Multiple cases involving the same or similar charges will be additionally problematic. 

• Outcome of cases.

A person charged with a crime will have less difficulty than a person convicted of a crime.  However, a person acquitted of a crime will not necessarily avoid problems in their divorce proceeding.  First, let’s take the case where a person is charged with a crime.  Generally speaking, a party is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  However, police reports, forensic reports and other investigative reports may be used in divorce proceedings to help the court make determinations with regard to parenting rights.  It is important to note that the burden of proof in a criminal case is beyond a reasonable doubt.  However, the burden of proof in a civil case, such as a divorce proceeding, is by a preponderance of the evidence.  The civil burden is lower than criminal burden.  Therefore, pending the ability of a prosecutor to meet the burden of proof in a criminal matter, the same evidence may facilitate the meeting of the burden of proof in a civil divorce matter.  This same theory can be applied to the case in which a person is acquitted.  The prosecutor may have failed to meet the criminal burden, however, the burden may be met with the same evidence in the civil divorce proceeding.  It’s easier to see that a person convicted of a crime will have the most difficulty because the prosecutor has already met a higher burden than would otherwise be met in a civil proceeding.

When a criminal matter is open at the same time as a divorce proceeding, the person charged with a committing a crime may often have the ability to diminish the negative impact the criminal matter will have.  Prosecuting attorneys will often extend offers or plea bargains to the person charged.  These plea bargains should be carefully evaluated for the suspected bearing they will have on an open divorce proceeding.  For example, a plea of guilty to disturbing the peace will have less impact than an original charge of assault.  A charge of domestic violence is often one of the most damaging charges a person can face in the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities. 

There are several circumstances in a divorce case that can pose obstacles or alternatively, help undo the damage done.  Examples of obstacles include, evaluations often performed by professions such as sex, drug and/or alcohol evaluations.  Endeavors that help undo the damage may include parenting classes, individual or group therapy, monitored sobriety, etc.

Whether you are the victim, defendant, or spouse of a defendant, it is important to recognize the effect criminal cases can have on divorce proceedings.  An experienced attorney can explore the options and advise client on methods of approaching the effect of criminal cases.