Military Divorce Lawyers Colorado Springs
Divorce is one of those society and family ripping events that no one plans on experiencing when they start out in a blissful, bliss-filled relationship. Emotions are tough and children, if present, often pulled in a multiple of directions. There is no such thing as a completely “easy” divorce, even in a state like Colorado where divorce is no-fault, meaning no grounds have to be stated why the marriage failed.
Lawyer Colorado Springs
Too often divorces also affect your career, and with nationally recognized military institutions being located in Colorado Springs, as lawyers in Colorado Springs, we have had to become one of the leading groups of military divorce lawyers in Colorado Springs, CO.
Colorado military divorce carries things particular to party that are different than civil proceedings. First, the attorneys employed by the US military cannot represent you or handle your proceedings. You need a civilian attorney to do so. It is imperative you find a lawyer in Colorado Springs, CO, that understands the unique laws pertaining to divorce here and how it affect you in the military.
Due to duty assignments, military personnel are moved around often or have differing identification based on their local status, driver’s license, and LES or “Leave and Earnings Statement”, the military version of a pay stub. Judges look closely at domicile and residency in Colorado when a request for dissolution for marriage is entered. Military divorce lawyers in Colorado Springs have to strictly follow Colorado statute while being sensitive to military procedures, and will explain residency must be for at least 91 days in Colorado. This includes your driver’s license changed, vehicle registration, voters registration, and other documents showing you intend to be here a while. Many service members have a different location due to permanent assignment on their LES. The LES must show CO or the judge will probably not consider the petition, no matter your military situation.
Colorado Military Divorce
If you are filing for divorce in Colorado with a child involved, you need to know that child support is enforceable as a wage assignment (garnishment) by Colorado courts on military personnel. Support is calculated based not only on actual income, but on allowances, which are many for military personnel. Child support runs until age 19, or until the child graduates from high school, whichever is later, and can be granted to continue through college in some cases.
Custody in dissolutions where children are involved is a challenge when one or both parties are in the military. The judge will consider what is best for the child, and which party or if both are equally able to provide a stable environment for the rearing of the little ones. This can be problematic with duty assignments, deployments, and changes with little notice when you are in the military. Colorado has two types of custody, primary residential and legal. The first is where the child resides, the other is how much say you have in the rearing of the child. If you plan to petition the court for custody of your child and you are on active duty, you must be able to present a solid, verifiable plan of how to provide a healthy, stable environment. If both parties are active duty, the court will usually require a mediated agreement governing legal custody issues and shared visitations with allowances for changes in duty assignments.
A lot of lawyers in Colorado Springs will claim to know how to navigate the detailed particulars of a military divorce, especially where assets and children are involved. Don’t take a chance with an attorney who does not specialize in Family Law and especially military divorce in Colorado. Talk to Family Lawyers Colorado Springs, and have representation by counsel that knows what they are doing.
Family Lawyers Colorado Springs, military divorce lawyer, Colorado Springs. We know.