16th Feb 25 1:25 am
JamieColorado is one of several states in which the only legal grounds for divorce is a breakdown of the marital relationship from which there is no realistic hope of reconciliation. The limited choice of legal grounds can simplify some of the considerations involved in filing for a divorce, but many individuals approaching a divorce in Colorado still have questions. A personalized consultation with an experienced family law attorney at Colorado Divorce Law Group may help you find answers. Call (720) 593-6442 today to book your appointment.
In the criminal justice system, individuals cannot be prosecuted and forced to stand trial simply because they are behaving objectionably. Law enforcement officers cannot make an arrest merely on the grounds that a person is mean-spirited, spiteful, or unpleasant to know. A person’s behavior, no matter how widely disliked, is not subject to criminal prosecution unless it violates a specific law – and state or federal prosecutors must identify the precise law or laws they intend to prove an individual has violated.
The civil courts, whose rules apply to Colorado family law cases under C.R.S. 14-10-105, follow a similar logic: Although there is no “prosecution” involved in filing for divorce, the party who brings a petition to the court must identify the legal basis for their request. The reason cited in the court filing must, in each case, correspond to a specific type of grievance or circumstance that Colorado law legally recognizes as an appropriate reason for the kind of request being made. This “appropriate reason” is also known as the legal grounds for the request (usually filed as a petition or complaint).
Each state sets its own rules concerning the grounds for divorce that will be considered legally valid in that state – just as states set their own rules for what constitutes a valid basis for legal action in many other scenarios. Until well into the 20th century, it was common for states to require one party to allege “fault” by their partner as the legal grounds for requesting a divorce. The party filing for divorce would then be required to show evidence that their partner was in fact “at fault” for the reason previously alleged – that is, that the non-filing partner really engaged in the conduct the person filing for divorce identified as their legal grounds.
The fact that legal grounds for divorce were (and are) generally set by the individual states meant that conduct that would constitute “fault,” and an appropriate reason for the court to grant a divorce if the fault were successfully proven, in one state might not constitute a legally valid cause for divorce in another jurisdiction. This variability in legally recognized “faults” persists among states that still accept fault-based grounds for divorce today – but the differences result in somewhat less disparity in access to divorce for individuals in unhappy (and even sometimes abusive) marriages than they once did, because as of 2010 – when, according to the JStor Daily, New York became the last state to sign no-fault divorce into law – all 50 states recognize at least some form of no-fault divorce.
Today, Colorado is one of a number of states in which no-fault divorce is the only form granted by the courts. The availability of divorce decrees granted on a no-fault basis nationwide would in a sense mean that all states are now “no-fault” states – but in practice, this term is typically used to refer to states that grant divorces on a no-fault basis exclusively. Colorado is a no-fault state for divorce in this latter sense.
In many cases, individuals contemplating divorce in Colorado are relieved to hear that there is no need to prove any wrongdoing (what some states call “marital misconduct” by their partners in order to be granted a decree of divorce – in fact, the Colorado Judicial Branch even provides forms for spouses seeking a divorce to use if they wish to file jointly. Even in no-fault divorce states, however, the petition for divorce (which in Colorado is formally called a “dissolution of marriage”) must still identify a legal basis for the petition. The only legally recognized grounds for divorce in Colorado today is an “irretrievable breakdown” of the marital relationship, identified in C.R.S. 14-10-106 alongside other formal requirements for Colorado divorces.
Unlike some fault-based legal grounds, “irretrievable breakdown” does not require proof, and C.R.S. 14-10-110 instructs the judges and magistrates presiding over Colorado divorce proceedings to “make a finding” that there has been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage when both parties have sworn or attested that this is the case. Most often, when a divorce is “contested,” it is because the parties disagree about the division of property, the allocation of parenting time, or some other issue that needs to be resolved before the spouses can legally part ways, and the irretrievable brokenness of the marriage is not at issue. However, 14-10-110(2) does provide for the possibility that one of the spouses may challenge a divorce “on the grounds” – that is, raise a challenge to the legal basis on which the petition has been filed. An experienced Colorado family law attorney with Colorado Divorce Law Group may be able to advise you regarding your options for raising or refuting this type of challenge.
No-fault divorce tends to enjoy broad popularity in part because it eliminates the necessity of proving that someone you once loved and trusted has engaged in a specific type of conduct that state law recognizes as totally unacceptable in a marriage. The collection – and production in court – of the kind of evidence needed to substantiate the allegations made in many fault-based divorces can be not just emotionally taxing for the parties involved, but potentially damaging to their relationships with family and friends, as well. Because no-fault divorce eliminates the need for this process, many people feel that it offers more opportunities for low-conflict resolution.
At the same time, it is not unusual for spouses who are generally appreciative of no-fault divorce as a concept to object to some of the legal implications that go along with grounds for divorce that are not based on either partner’s transgressions. Spouses who feel that their marriages are irretrievably broken due to their partners’ misconduct, are often particularly frustrated to learn that the conduct of either spouse during the marriage is not among the factors Colorado courts are directed to consider in making awards of spousal maintenance (alimony) under C.R.S. 14-10-114, although the judge or magistrate overseeing the individual case does have considerable latitude to take into consider “any other factors” that may be relevant.
If you are approaching a divorce in the Denver area, you likely have a number of questions about the legal aspect of the proceedings. If you have been served with notice that your spouse has filed a petition for dissolution of marriage with a Colorado court, you may wonder about what the grounds for divorce are and how the legal basis for your spouse’s divorce petition will be substantiated. An experienced Denver area family law attorney with Colorado Divorce Law Group may be able to walk you through the factors that affect your personal situation in a one-on-one consultation. Call our office today at (720) 593-6442 to find your time.
