Colorado Child Support & Parenting Planning Tools and Court Forms

Moving through the maze of paperwork and documents required to meaningfully consider and discuss Colorado divorce issues and to prepare and file required Colorado court forms is challenging, at best! At Divorce Resolutions, LLC, we offer the following free tools, Colorado divorce forms and parenting and child support planning resources to assist you.

All these are available here in Adobe portable document format (*.pdf). If your computer does not already have Adobe Acrobat Reader to access these Colorado forms and tools, a link to download the necessary Adobe software follows (this software is provided without charge by its developer). This version of this software tool will allow you to view and print, but not edit and save changes to these documents.

Colorado Divorce and Paternity Topics Lists

The following is a list of general topics we will likely discuss in mediation and/or the court would expect you to have resolved, as part of your Colorado divorce or paternity case. (This is not intended to be an exhaustive list covering all the issues we will need to address in our work and include in your final agreement.) You may wish to review and organize your thoughts with respect to these topics, in advance of our meeting.

But please, do not feel like you must have discussed or resolved any of these issues before we meet. Most couples need some help in understanding the range of choices they have, and that is part of our job as the mediator.

Moreover, it is often very helpful to reserve your final thinking not only until after you have an opportunity to hear from your spouse or co-parent of his or her views, but also until you have learned from the mediator of many other options that others have found workable with respect to these issues.

The following Suggested Topics Lists may be helpful. Click on these Colorado divorce planning tools, to review or print. (More complete instructions to access these follow.)

• Suggested Topics List (Divorce, Colorado Couples Without Minor Children of Their Marriage)
• Suggested Topics List (Divorce, Colorado Couples With Minor Children of Their Marriage)
• Suggested Topics List (Paternity, Unmarried Colorado Couples With Children of Their Relationship)

Helpful Information To Assemble Lists (Divorce, After-Divorce And Paternity)

Colorado law requires the timely disclosure and exchange of certain basic financial information, as part of a divorce, paternity or child support or spousal maintenance modification case. Disclosure of a financial circumstance or asset or debt does not, of course, control your agreement with respect to that circumstance. It only validates that your agreement was founded on good information.

The following Helpful Information to Assemble Lists provide you some direction of what information is required to be disclosed or is at least useful in streamlining our work together. Again, it is not expected that you have ready access to all this information and certainly, not when you first meet or begin your work in mediation with us.

Click on these Colorado divorce planning tools, to review or print. (More complete instructions to access these follow.)

• Helpful Information to Assemble (Colorado Divorce, Couples Without Minor Children of Their Marriage)
• Helpful Information to Assemble (Colorado Divorce, Couples With Minor Children of Their Marriage)
• Helpful Information to Assemble (After Divorce, Couples Seeking Modification of Colorado Child Support)
• Helpful Information to Assemble (After Divorce, Couples Seeking Modification of Colorado Maintenance)
• Helpful Information to Assemble (Colorado Paternity, Unmarried Couples With Children of Their Relationship)

You may also wish to review our article “Free Credit Report Valuable at Divorce!” on the new federal law granting free access to your credit report. Updated credit report information can materially assist you in managing and resolving all outstanding marital debt issues and concerns, as part of your Colorado divorce or legal separation.

For Parents Only — Agreed Commitments Forms

Additionally, we strongly encourage you, in preparation for your Colorado divorce or for mediation of parenting issues, to complete the unique and eye-opening questionnaire and forms which create a mutual list of Agreed Commitments to your children.

Described, and with links, at our Online Resources page, these are offered without charge at the Up To Parents (for divorced or divorcing parents) and Proud to Parent (for parents never married to each other) nonprofit organization’s websites.

Colorado Court Forms

Well, you knew there were official Colorado Court forms with divorce, child support or paternity cases, right? The basic court forms, as developed by the Colorado State Judicial Branch, are available here in both Microsoft Word and Adobe Portable Document formats. (This is, of course, not a complete list of all forms appropriate for all cases or circumstances. See our caution regarding working with Colorado divorce forms below.)

Simply click on the appropriate format and “open” to review, or right click to “save” to your computer for later use (saving the file to your computer is faster and recommended!). The Word format variety of these forms can be completed with your personal and family information and saved and/or printed; but, of course, you must have Microsoft Word software to use this format. The Adobe software is free.

You also may wish to review or print out our article “10 Golden Rules for Completing Colorado Divorce Forms,” as featured in Divorce in Denver Magazine. (See our complete list of Divorce in Denver Magazine articles.)

Colorado Divorce Forms

All Colorado divorces begin with filing of a court form called a petition (for Dissolution of Marriage, or for Legal Separation), and a simple Case Information Sheet. All Colorado divorce-related cases end with the Court’s signing a decree, and — where there is also an order for Colorado child support or spousal support (“maintenance”) — an attachment to the decree known as a support order.

A sworn statement of your financial circumstances (including income and expenses, and assets and debts) now known as a Sworn Financial Statement is also required in all Colorado divorce or legal separation cases. Effective March 1, 2006, this streamlined form replaces the much more comprehensive former Financial Affidavit known formally as the Affidavit With Respect to Financial Affairs (not so affectionately called the “Big Bear”!) originally required as part of the many changes in Colorado divorce law and process on Jan. 1, 2005.

You must also complete the single page “Supporting Schedules” and attach it to your Sworn Financial Statement if you or your spouse have:

• Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, securities or investment accounts
• Pension, profit sharing or other retirement funds
• “Separate property” — property acquired prior to your marriage or by gift or inheritance

Colorado law formally requires the filing of a certificate affirming that each party has disclosed to the other financial documents required by Colorado divorce law. (And this is so, in Colorado child support or spousal maintenance modification cases as well.) Formally known as a “Certificate of Compliance”, we have labeled that form “Disclosures Certificate” here. For convenience, the list of documents required to be provided to each spouse (we call this the mandatory “Disclosures List”) is provided below as well.

Finally, if you have no children and have resolved all issues in your Colorado divorce, you are not required to appear in Court for a final hearing. (Unless you conclude your case promptly, however, you may be required to attend — as part of the 2005 changes to the Colorado divorce process — a so-called “status conference.”) Instead, you may file a sworn statement that you wish the judge to review your case without your appearing. This is officially called an Affidavit for Decree Without Appearance of Parties, but we have labeled that form Nonappearance Affidavit below.

Of course, as detailed earlier in this website, we discuss these Colorado divorce forms with you, in our mediation process.

Click on these to review or print. (See below for more complete instructions to access these Colorado court forms for divorce.)

*Those Word forms marked with an asterisk have special fillable fields and offer automatic calculations or template features (use the Tab key to move between sections). Although we recommend use of these forms, on some computers and with some browsers, as you access these forms, you may be asked for a password or login; simply cancel to continue or to return to our website. (Of course, you may wish to save your work on these special forms to your own computer.)

Colorado Paternity Forms And Allocation Of Parental Responsibilities: Never-Married Parents

We also include an informational brochure (regarding paternity in Colorado), and official instructions outlining the process of establishing or disclaiming paternity and of seeking an allocation of parental responsibilities (authority to make major upbringing decisions, formerly called “custody”) for never-married parents in Colorado.

We also include three Colorado paternity forms often accessed by never-married Colorado parents who desire to establish court orders establishing their rights and acknowledging their responsibilities as parents. (We would prefer to describe these processes as “parentage” or “parental responsibility” proceedings; but they are commonly called paternity and custody.)

Again, as detailed earlier in this website, we discuss these Colorado court paternity forms with you, in our mediation process.

Click on these to review or print. (See below for more complete instructions to access these Colorado paternity forms.)

*Those Word forms marked with an asterisk have special fillable fields and offer automatic calculations or template features (use the Tab key to move between sections). Although we recommend use of these forms, on some computers and with some browsers, as you access these forms, you may be asked for a password or login; simply cancel to continue or to return to our website. (Of course, you may wish to save your work on these special forms to your own computer.)

Colorado Child Support Law: Worksheets And Calculator

Finally, we include, with a caution, the official and updated

• Colorado child support worksheets (manual forms)
• An Excel spreadsheet Colorado child support calculator automatically calculating child support payments according to the Colorado child support laws (the Colorado Child Support Guidelines).Careful! There are some unofficial, miserably incomplete, inaccurate or outdated Colorado child support calculator tools online, falsely promising to calculate child support consistent with the Colorado Child Support Guidelines laws.

Manual Child Support Worksheets

Click on these to review or print, but note: the Adobe version of these is a much larger file, and “double-clicking” will take a long time to download. (See below for complete and recommended Adobe instructions to access these Colorado child support forms.)

Electronic Child Support Worksheets — Excel Calculator

This Colorado child support calculator requires that you own Microsoft Excel’s spreadsheet program, and that you enable use of macros in its security settings. (Please also note: this tool is created as one of the self-help resources hosted by the Colorado Courts & Judicial Department, and we cannot assist with technical support issues relating to use of this Colorado child support calculator.)

Additional Colorado Child Support Forms Information

Although these forms and tools provide valuable insight to the basic Colorado law of child support, couples may consider a number of approaches in seeking fair and equitable child support. Mediation can be an excellent process to discuss and consider all options in this regard. Often there are many issues with respect to the information required to be considered in the calculation of child support in Colorado. In appropriate cases with written findings, Colorado courts are not bound by the ordinary or “presumptive” calculation of child support these forms and tools provide. Additionally, these tools do not seek to determine spousal support (maintenance) — a separate issue.

Colorado child support law recently changed as well, and these tools and forms reflect these changes. See our article Colorado Child Support Law: 2008 Changes and other articles in our Colorado divorce law information and mediation news — “The Latest!” — section of this website (including 2003 Changes to Colorado Child Support Law).

We work daily in our mediation process with similar tools optimized for divorce professionals regarding support options (among the best is Colorado attorney Bill Redak’s child support program). We cannot, however, assist you with electronic mail or phone inquiries about these Colorado child support forms.

The Colorado state laws website provides further information on use of these forms for calculating Colorado child support obligations and other domestic law forms.

Caution With Colorado Divorce Forms: Professional Assistance Advised

It is extremely helpful for parties to get proper information from a Colorado divorce professional before filing any of these or other Colorado court forms.

This is especially important before adopting a particular worksheet’s purported calculation of Colorado child support obligations as appropriate in any given case. Determining appropriate or equitable child support can be a complex and daunting task, and the limitations of our website’s information (as described in our Disclaimers and Notices page) are very important.

Filing can trigger court obligations sooner than you might anticipate — see our discussion in the Frequently Asked Questions (Colorado Divorce & Mediation) section of this website — so timing may be important, as well. (Also, see our separate article on how the choice of when to file and the timing of divorce can have substantial income tax consequences as well.)

A Colorado mediation attorney can individually assist you, or we can discuss these issues with your spouse, former spouse or co-parent in mediation.