On your own Colorado family case

Your dates, your checks, your next step.

Enter a date: it counts your Colorado deadlines from the statute and the court's own forms. What you type stays on this page and is gone when you leave.

Divorce or legal separation dates

Date the papers were served, the waiver was signed, or the joint petition was filed

How it started Papers handed over in Colorado Papers handed over outside Colorado Served by publication (newspaper) The other spouse signed a waiver We filed together

Not filed yet? Check the earliest filing day

Day either spouse started living in Colorado Day the children started living in Colorado (if any)

Counted in calendar days. The court may enter a decree after day 91; many cases take longer.

From the day of filing (for the person who filed) and of service or waiver (for both), Colorado law orders both spouses:

Not to transfer, borrow against, hide or get rid of marital property without the other's consent or a court order, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life; tell the other about any extraordinary expense, and account to the court for it.
Not to molest or disturb the peace of the other.
Not to take the children out of Colorado without the other's consent or a court order.
Not to cancel, change or let lapse health, home or renter's, car or life insurance covering either of you or the children without 14 days' notice and written consent, or a court order.

C.R.S. 14-10-107(4)(b), printed on the JDF 1102 Summons. Either spouse may ask the court for temporary orders (C.R.S. 14-10-108).

Child support change check

Work out the new amount with the state's child support calculator, then compare.

Current order, per month ($) New amount from the calculator, per month ($)

Months you might wait before filing

Decision-making: can I ask again yet?

Who decides school, health care and religion for the children.

Day the last motion to change it was decided (granted or not)

Parenting plan notes, by the court's factors

The court decides parenting time by the child's best interests, with the child's safety first, and weighs these factors (C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.5)(a)). Write a few facts under each, then print and carry them to the Parenting Plan form (JDF 1113). Use initials, not names.

Each parent's wishes for parenting time The child's wishes, if mature enough to give reasons The child with each parent, siblings and others who matter How settled the child is at home, school and in the community Health of everyone involved (a disability alone is never a reason to limit time) Each parent's support for the child's love and contact with the other Each parent's past involvement: time, values, support How far apart the parents live, and what that means day to day Each parent putting the child's needs ahead of their own For decision-making: can the parents cooperate and decide together?

The court does not weigh conduct that does not affect a parent's relationship with the child, and does not presume either parent is better because of sex (C.R.S. 14-10-124(2) and (3)). If domestic violence or child abuse is claimed, the court follows its own safety steps first (C.R.S. 14-10-124(4)).

Parenting-time calendar

Turn the schedule in your parenting plan (JDF 1113) or order into exchange days on your phone's calendar. Your order controls; this only counts days.

Schedule First day of the schedule (for weekends: the first Friday)

Has them first (initials) Other parent (initials)

Weeks to put on the calendar

Case record: what happened, and how you know

One line per event, with how you know it. Mark what the other side disputes; it stays on the list, marked. A photo or screenshot gets a fingerprint (SHA-256) made on your phone, so you can later show the file has not changed. The file is never uploaded. Use initials, not names.

Date What happened (facts only) How you know The other side disputes this Photo or file to fingerprint (optional)

Save or print before you leave: this page keeps nothing. A record helps a lawyer or the court see what you can show; it does not make a fact true.

After the decree: who would get your accounts?

Colorado law cancels most gifts to a former spouse when a divorce is final, but not all of them, and not in a way every payer has to notice. Tick what you have.

Accounts and papers that name the former spouse Retirement plan or life insurance through a job Life insurance I bought myself IRA Bank or brokerage account payable or transferable on death Home or land held in joint tenancy A will or trust Ours is a legal separation, not a divorce The decree or our agreement says to keep a beneficiary

A grandparent or relative caring for a child

A parent can sign a power of attorney that hands a relative the parent's powers over the child's care and custody. It has a time limit.

Day the parent signed (or will sign) the power of attorney

Who can help

In danger now? Call 911. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.

People in your household Household income a year, before tax ($)

Colorado Legal Services: civil legal aid for Coloradans who qualify.
Colorado courts' self-help resources: forms and help with filing.
Divorce and legal separation forms, from the Colorado Judicial Branch.

General information from the sources below, not legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed your facts. Do not type names, case numbers or addresses. Nothing is stored or sent.

Sources

Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 14 (2024 printout by the Office of Legislative Legal Services): sections 14-10-106, 14-10-107, 14-10-108, 14-10-122, 14-10-124, 14-10-131. leg.colorado.gov
Colorado Judicial Branch, JDF 1102 Summons for Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation: 21 days in Colorado, 35 days outside Colorado or by publication, decree after 91 days. coloradojudicial.gov
Colorado Judicial Branch, JDF 1011 Petition (asks whether the children lived in Colorado 182 days before filing). coloradojudicial.gov
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026 Poverty Guidelines (48 states and DC). aspe.hhs.gov
Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 15 (2024 printout): sections 15-10-201(22), 15-11-804 and 15-14-105. leg.colorado.gov
Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001): federal law (ERISA) controls who an employer plan pays. law.cornell.edu
45 CFR 1611.3 and 1611.5, Legal Services Corporation financial eligibility. ecfr.gov

Your dates, your checks, your next step.

todayDivorce or legal separation dates

From the day of filing (for the person who filed) and of service or waiver (for both), Colorado law orders both spouses:

request_quoteChild support change check

event_busyDecision-making: can I ask again yet?

edit_noteParenting plan notes, by the court's factors

todayParenting-time calendar

fact_checkCase record: what happened, and how you know

descriptionAfter the decree: who would get your accounts?

homeA grandparent or relative caring for a child

groupWho can help