How to Settle a Divorce Out of Court in Colorado

Image of a person signing a paper and text reading How to delete a divorce out of court in Colorado — To settle a Colorado divorce, you must identify all issues and cooperate in a settlement acceptable to both spouses.

To settle a Colorado divorce case, you need to be able to identify all assets and debts possessed by each spouse and then be able to cooperate in reaching a written settlement acceptable to both parties.

An out of court divorce settlement is one in which no disputes need a determination by a judge. You can’t avoid court completely, since you need a Judge’s signed Order to legally dissolve a marriage. You are required to file paperwork with the court and have it approved by the Judge. There is no way to avoid filing with the court altogether, but you can avoid having a contested hearing.

Most divorce cases settle

Divorce cases in Colorado are commonly settled by agreement of the parties without any decision having to be made by a judge. Far more cases are settled by agreement than by court hearing. There are a number of systemic forces encouraging settlement. First, depending on the court district, it can take 9 months to 2 years to get to a final permanent orders hearing—the final hearing that resolves a dissolution of marriage case. Settling gets you on with your life much more quickly. There are not enough Judges and days in a year for them to hold a hearing in every case filed.

In 2023, there were 913 dissolution of marriage cases filed in Boulder County. There were 301 other types of domestic relations cases filed. Judges don’t hold hearings every day. Some days are just spent scheduling. There are only two Judges currently in Boulder handling pre-decree domestic relations cases. Even if these two Judges could hold divorce hearings every day, there are only about 249 workdays a year. It would be impossible for just two judges to hold hearings in all of those cases in a year.

The court system needs cases to resolve themselves. It strongly encourages settlement out of court by requiring disclosure of assets by each party and requiring mediation if a case is not settled by a certain date.

Second, final orders hearings with attorneys cost about $20,000-$100,000+ depending on the issues and experts involved. Settling is often a cost savings. Expensive issues need to be on the line to justify the expense of a hearing.

Third, attorneys can often predict the outcomes based on experience and advise a settlement that reflects what the Judge will probably do anyway.

Settlement is only possible by cooperation.

A settlement is only possible by agreement of both parties. This may be in a case where it’s known to be an uncontested, low-conflict divorce from the start or any type of situation where parties can reach agreement. However, if one party is determined to force issues to a hearing, you cannot avoid the hearing.

Identify all issues and assets involved.

We identify all issues and assets involved by exchanging disclosures of statements for all accounts. Sworn Financial Statements identifying all assets and debts are required by the court.

Agreement is needed on values of all assets and debts.

Before you can split things up you have to agree on what each of those things is worth. The biggest items to value are usually houses, businesses, vehicles, mineral interests, and investments. Classes of items like “furniture” or “kitchen wares” can be approximated by class instead of each individual pot and pan.

Negotiation with the other party.

Either directly or through attorneys the proposed terms of settlement must be communicated between the spouses. Attorneys often do this through either a short summary of proposed settlement terms emailed to the other party/attorney or through preparing a detailed Separation Agreement (and a Parenting Plan, if children).

Write up a clear Separation Agreement.

A Separation Agreement is the document that defines who receives what and who pays what in divorce. There’s a basic check-the-box form available from the Court here (labeled by the courts as a “Property and Financial Agreement” for use by non-lawyers—but the correct term in Colorado statutes is a Separation Agreement). Attorneys create their own more robust and detailed Separation Agreements that head off commonly encountered issues and provide more detail.

File all necessary documents with the Court.

In addition to the minimum time passing of 91 days, in most districts, Judges require the following documents before they will review a Separation Agreement and sign the Decree of Dissolution of Marriage:

1) Separation Agreement signed by both parties

2) Affidavit for Decree Without Appearance of Parties

3) Proposed Decree of Dissolution of Marriage

4) Parenting Plan (if children)

5) Child Support Worksheet (if children)

6) Proposed Child Support Order (if child support owed)

7) Sworn Financial Statements for each party

Benefit of Attorneys

Knowledge of how assets are practically divided and requirements necessary in Settlement Agreement. For example, Fidelity requires you to show them the exact language describing how an account is divided. Problems can arise if you agree to divide an account in a manner that a plan administrator will not carry out. So there are a number of nuances attorneys learn through experience to plan for in constructing a workable settlement.

Do you need help with a divorce in Colorado?

If your case faces complexities, you may need an attorney experience in divorce law to assist you through the process. An attorney can tell you how your unique situation may impact the timeline of your divorce case. Contact a divorce attorney at Ellison Law by submitting an inquiry form.