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Erie CO Divorce attorneys Will Ellison and Emily Ellison

Divorce Attorneys serving Erie, Colorado

Erie, Colorado Divorce Attorneys

The Erie, CO Divorce Attorneys at Ellison Law provide personalized and prompt service to guide you through your divorce or legal separation to minimize conflict. Our Erie Divorce Attorneys listen to your unique needs and goals, distill complex legal jargon into understandable terms, and craft a strategy to achieve your best outcome. Our team has the experience and skills to advise you on your best outcome. We provide reasonable advice to help keep conflict low and save you money.  

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Ready to get started on resolving your case? Fill out our intake form below.

New Client Intake Process

  1. Submit a form below. Review our services to see if we are right for you.

  2. Look for our email response to schedule a phone call. If yours is a case type we handle, once we have time to review your form, we will contact you via email or phone to schedule a case strategy phone consultation to discuss your case and our services.

  3. Hire us by signing Fee Agreement and paying retainer. If you decide to proceed with hiring us, we will email you a Fee Agreement to review and sign digitally. We will also email you a payment request to make the retainer payment (which we will discuss on our call). Our representation of you then begins. We start by filing the necessary paperwork to start your case or enter our appearance as your attorney if your case is already filed. 

New Client Inquiry Form

What type of case do you have?

Our Erie, CO Divorce and Legal Separation Services

Full Representation in Divorce or Legal Separation

  • What's full representation? We represent you on all issues of divorce and negotiate resolution with your spouse or their attorney if possible. For contested issue, we prepare and present them at hearing. We prepare all the necessary paperwork in the case. 

  • Can you represent both of us? We can only represent one spouse. We cannot represent both parties in the case. Lawyer ethics rules only allow us to give legal advice to one party. We can refer your spouse to other like-minded attorneys to consult with on finding resolution. We can still communicate about negotiations and the court requirements with your spouse or their attorney. So if we are the only attorney involved we can still communicate your proposals on settlement to your spouse. But we cannot answer legal questions your spouse may have. They need to get legal questions answered by their own attorney. Common legal questions that come up are: Is the property being divided marital?, Should there be maintenance or child support?, How much should maintenance be?, How much should child support be? 

  • How long will this take? Here is our detailed blog, but the basic answer is that the actual settlement can be accomplished as quickly as both parties can identify all the issues involved and come to agreement. The law in Colorado does not allow a judge to issue a decree dissolving a marriage until 91 days have passed since a joint petition was filed or since both parties were served. This does not mean we cannot reach a settlement on day one. It just means your legal status as a married couple cannot be dissolved until 91 days have passed.

Why Hire the Erie Divorce Lawyers of Ellison Law

Prompt and Personal

  • A husband-and-wife team who strive for your best result.

  • Personalized service to each client.

  • Direct-to-attorney communication.

  • We maintain a manageable caseload that allows us the focus necessary to achieve the best outcome in each case.

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Actively Engaged in the Legal Community

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Knowledgeable​

  • Experienced in cases involving unique assets, including high asset divorces with high value real estate, multiple real estate properties, businesses, trusts, and unique retirement assets including a variety of pension plans and Colorado PERA.

  • We also provide marital agreement drafting and review services, including Marital Agreements (Post-Nuptial Agreements) and Pre-Marital Agreements (Pre-Nuptial Agreements).

Frequently Asked Questions About Divorce in Erie, CO

How long does it take to get divorced in Colorado?

A divorce in Colorado takes at least 91 days. There is a statutory waiting period of 91 days before a divorce can be finalized. In Colorado, most divorce cases take six to nine months. Your divorce may take a year or longer if it involves complex assets, difficult parenting issues, the need for experts, a final hearing, or multiple hearings. Read more in our article on how long it takes to get divorced in Colorado.

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Read more questions and answers on our FAQ page.

Common Family Law Terms

  • Divorce: The legal term for divorce in Colorado is dissolution of marriage.  See our divorce flowchart and more on the process below.

  • Alimony/Spousal Maintenance/Spousal Support: Alimony is a colloquial term for payments paid from one spouse to another for financial support. Colorado law uses the terms spousal maintenance or spousal support to refer for alimony. Spousal maintenance is awarded when there is a large disparity in incomes of the parties. The spouse requesting maintenance must show a financial need and that the other spouse has the ability to pay. When determining a maintenance award, the Court considers all relevant factors.   

  • Legal Separation: A legal separation is a legal status and process, it is not accomplished by merely living separately. A legal separation in Colorado follows the same process as dissolution (commonly called divorce), except that the legal status of married remains. Read more in our article on legal separation.

  • Child Custody: What used to be called “child custody” is now called parental responsibilities in Colorado. Physical custody is now called parenting time. Legal custody is now called decision making. If you have minor children, then the Court will require you and your spouse to establish a parenting time schedule. This is a schedule that determines which days the children are with each parent. 

  • Property Division: One of the main objectives in a Colorado divorce is determining how to divide marital property and debts. Colorado is an equitable distribution state. An equitable distribution means that Colorado courts will divide marital property fair and equitably. In practice, most Courts divide marital property equally (50/50).                   

  • Child Support: Child Support will be calculated to determine if one parent owes the other monthly child support. The two main factors in determining child support are the number of overnights each parent has with the children and each parent’s gross monthly income.

  • Uncontested Divorce: Colorado law does not define an uncontested, no contest, or non-contested divorce differently from a contested divorce. However, when parties agree on all terms there are differences in the process. 

  • Post-Decree Modifications of Orders: Motions are required to modify orders made in the initial divorce or allocation of parental responsibilities case.

  • Common Law Marriage: No specific facts are certain to create a common law marriage. There is no specific duration required. It is a fact based determination made by the court. 

  • Partition: A partition is a civil lawsuit required to divide real estate between two or more unmarried owners. 

Overview of the Colorado Divorce Process

The legal term for "divorce" is dissolution of marriage. This is the term you will see on the paperwork involved.

The basic steps in a typical dissolution of marriage case are:

  • File a Petition or Co-Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and complete service of process, if needed.

  • Attend the Initial Status Conference. This is the first Court appearance where you schedule deadlines in the case, ask the Court to appoint any experts, if needed, and request a Temporary Orders hearing, if necessary. Usually scheduled about 3-6 weeks out from filing the initiating documents.

  • Exchange Mandatory Financial Disclosures and file a Sworn Financial Statement. There is a 42-day deadline from the date of either when the Co-Petition is signed, the Waiver and Acceptance of Service is signed, or the other party is formally served.

  • Negotiate settlement and attend mediation to resolve all issues.

  • Prepare and attend Permanent Orders Hearing for a judicial determination of remaining contested issues. 

Divorce is a process required by the state and it has narrow purposes different from the purposes for ending the relationship. The dissolution of marriage process is designed to accomplish the purposes of: 

  • Dissolving the marriage

  • Determining ownership of assets, liability for debts,

  • Determining spousal maintenance, if necessary, and 

  • Allocating parental responsibilities of children.

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Colorado is a “no-fault state,” which means that neither spouse has to provide a reason for ending the marriage. Bad acts by either spouse leading to the failure of the marriage (i.e. infidelity) are mostly irrelevant to the case, except to the extent they include economic fault, such as accumulation of debt or waste of assets. Bad acts can also matter to the extent they negatively impact parenting.

Purposes of Divorce

What Our Clients Say

A ship's wheel

He took as much time as I needed to feel comfortable making decisions, listened carefully, advised me professionally and with compassion, and helped me reach a settlement by communicating effectively with the opposing lawyer. I would highly recommend him for family law matters.

- Family Law Client 11/13/18
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A toy sail boat

We worked with both William and Emily Ellison for a custody case. They are extremely professional, but also get to know your situation personally. They listened to everything we had to say and gave us wonderful advice. They are both very knowledgeable. They had us more prepared for our hearing then we ever thought imaginable and we won our case. I highly recommend them for family matters. I would also use them again if ever needed. Wonderful people!!

- Family Law Client 1/2/19

Rope on a ship deck

Emily has been an amazing attorney in helping and guiding me with my upcoming divorce. She has been patient and kind and so helpful. She answers emails promptly.  She takes the time to listen to me and answer all the questions I have.  Hiring her as my divorce attorney was the best decision I have made in my divorce. Both Emily and Will are kind, dedicated professional attorneys who have their clients best interest at heart.

- Family Law Client 1/12/21

Awards and Community

About Courts in Erie, Colorado 

  • Q: What Court hears Erie, Colorado divorce cases?

  • A: Erie divorce cases are heard in Boulder County District Court at the Boulder County Justice. Erie divorce cases are heard in Boulder County District Court at the Boulder County Justice Center off of Canyon Blvd. For Erie divorce cases, you will only attend court at the Boulder County Justice Center at 1777 6th Street, Boulder, Colorado. The Boulder County Courthouse on Pearl Street is a historic building and no longer handles any court business. 

  • Q: What Colorado court district hears Erie divorce cases?

  • A: Erie is in the 20th Judicial District, which encompasses all of Boulder County. The 20th Judicial District handles Erie divorce cases. Divorce cases in Colorado are heard in District Court by District Court Judges. Erie divorce cases are heard by Boulder County District Court Judges. 

  • Q: Where is the Erie, Colorado municipal court?

  • There is an Erie Municipal Court located at 1000 Tellen Ave., Erie, CO 80516. The municipal court only handles violations of the Town’s municipal ordinances and the Model Traffic Code. The Erie Municipal Court does not handle divorce cases. 

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