Common Law Marriages
In Colorado, to have a common law marriage, the parties must have a present intention to be married. The issue becomes complex in determining what the parties' present intent was at the time one of the parties states that the common law marriage took place. Oftentimes parties think that if they lived together and have children and things of that nature, that they are common law married. This is not true as many people do live together and have children, and have no intention of being married. If that is the case, they are not married. The advice of an attorney should be obtained before a person tries to conclude whether or not they have a common law marriage. If there is a common law marriage, it is just as valid as any ceremonial marriage and the parties must go through a divorce.

About Divorce
In Colorado, divorce is now called Dissolution of Marriage. Basically, a divorce decree says that your marriage has been dissolved, thus you are no longer husband and wife. Colorado has "no fault" divorce, which means that neither party need make any derogatory remarks towards the other.party as a basis for the divorce. The divorce will be granted automatically when asked to be done so by one of the parties.

Divorces can be contested or uncontested based upon whether or not the parties agree on the issues of allocation of parental rights if there are children, the division of assets and debts, and possibly maintenance, formerly known as alimony, requested by one of the spouses.

Colorado can also issue a decree of legal separation to the parties if so requested. This involves going through the same procedures as a divorce. However, at the end the parties are just legally separated, but still married. While all matters regarding children, assets, debts, and perhaps maintenance will have to be provided for in a decree of legal separation, some people find that their religion prevents them from actually getting divorced. In addition, some military people find that the non-military spouse can continue to obtain benefits through the military as long as there is no divorce decree entered; even if there is a legal separation.

Who gets What?
During the course of a divorce, the parties must determine who gets what. This means that the parties must divide up the assets of their marriage, to include the home, furniture, vehicles, stocks, bonds, retirements, and any other assets they might have. This is done on a reasonable basis, which normally means close to a 50/50 basis. It should be kept in mind, however, that oftentimes the Court will not make it a 50/50 division if one party makes a significantly larger amount of money than the other party, or if one of the parties has a much better opportunity to make more money than the other party. The same reasoning applies to the division of debts. Obviously, the person who makes more money would naturally pay more of the debts of the marriage. As to assets and liabilities, any assets or liabilities that are acquired during the marriage are considered to be marital and must be divided between the parties. If a party owned an asset or had a debt from before the marriage, that is still considered to remain a separate debt. However, increases in value of the asset or debt change that from a simple calculation to a much more complicated one in determining marital value. This is where the advice of an attorney becomes critical as attorneys do this on a daily basis.