Colorado Divorce Attorney

Protect Your Rights

Divorce is about change – major changes.  The decisions you make about each of those changes can affect the rest of your life and the lives of other family members.  After almost 18 years of marriage, I went through a divorce. Through that experience, I gained insight and empathy as to what my clients go through in the divorce process.  The changes can be confusing and you may be vulnerable.  Your emotions and  judgment may be clouded.

PROPERTY AND DEBT DIVISION

One of the biggest challenges of a divorce is establishing a solid foundation for a client’s post-divorce life.

Financially, parties to a dissolution of marriage action must make many decisions about the property and debt division  and maintenance.  In order  to  make informed decisions, the Colorado statutes mandates that both parties to a dissolution of marriage must provide full financial disclosure. Once financial disclosure has been made, the parties and their attorneys will be in a position to consider settlement possibilities about maintenance, property and debt division.

The laws in Colorado require the court to make an equitable division. Equitable is not always equal, but a lot of Colorado courts issue an equal or near equal division of assets. However, there are a number of issues that still must be resolved before going to court or settling your case, such as what are marital assets and what are separate property assets? How do you prove separate property assets and value? Should there be a disproportionate settlement where a party receives more than the other party? When would such a claim be successful? How do you value a business or a pension plan? Are assets hidden? Is the other party being honest about their assets? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered before settling your case or bringing it to trial.

Ms. Drake has negotiated the settlement of many high net worth cases. Her cases have included marital estates containing multiple real estate assets and corporations. She has filed emergency motions when assets were being improperly liquidated and hidden. With over thirty years of experience, Ms. Drake has the experience and skills to help you.

 MAINTENANCE

 Ms. Drake helps her clients protect their rights regarding maintenance or spousal support. Many of Jeanne Drake Law’s clients find that the biggest challenge of divorce is establishing a solid foundation for their post-divorce lives. This affects both the recipient and the payor of maintenance. Questions can arise about the parties’ income and how it is calculated for the purposes of maintenance, particularly for the self-employed or someone who earns a significant amount of overtime and receives bonus income. Income issues arise if one spouse is attending school or contemplating attending school. These are very real questions and should be discussed with competent counsel.

Is your case a maintenance case and if so, how much maintenance should be awarded and for how long? Whether you are the higher wager earner concerned about being able to afford paying maintenance  and your  own monthly  expenses or the lower wage earner concerned about making ends meet every month, this issue is highly personal to both parties to a divorce. While there are formula guidelines, the court retains great discretion in considering the statutory factors before making a maintenance award. Ms. Drake has had significant experience reviewing parties’ finances, the Colorado guidelines and statutory criteria and will work to provide you with fair maintenance awards.

CHILD SUPPORT

 Child support awards are based upon a Colorado statutory presumptive formula called a guideline. In order to calculate guideline child support, the parties must determine gross monthly income of each party. While this may be easy if a party earns a salary or an hourly rate and works 40 hours per week, it is not as easy when trying to determine the wages of the self-employed, or commission based employee or an employee who works shifts and has shift differentials or there are bonuses involved. What about overtime, is that used? There are many nuances that go into the determination of someone’s gross monthly income.

Income is just the first step in calculating child support. You need to know how many overnights each parent will have with the children. Then there are special costs for extraordinary medical needs or activity needs. How do these costs factor into the formula or get paid?

Ms. Drake has the skills to properly evaluate these issues so that there is a proper award of child support.

PARENTAL RESPONSIBLITIES

Parents in a divorce action must make decisions about parenting time for the children and their residential home. It may mean both parents homes are the residential home on an share equal parenting time schedule.

If the parents are able to make the decisions and co-parent, the children will suffer the least amount anxiety over the divorce. If the parents are arguing about the children, the children are affected. If the parents are unable to make decisions about their children’s best interest, the court will decide.

The Colorado standard is “Best Interest of the children.” What does that mean? The Colorado statute list numerous factors for the court to review in determining what is in the best interest of the children. Trials are expensive and very emotional. Parents and the children are generally best served by working diligently to find resolution on custody issues so that the children will suffer the least amount of affects from the divorce.

Ms. Drake strongly believes trying to resolve issues pertaining to custody decisions.

A Northern Colorado Trial-Tested Divorce Attorney

Jeanne Drake Law IS committed to resolving your divorce as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. However, HER top priority is protecting your rights and setting the course for a successful post-divorce life. That’s why she is always prepared to go to court if a fair resolution cannot be reached through negotiations.

Jeanne understands that you probably have a number of questions about Colorado divorce law and your rights. She offers a 30-minute telephone consultation at no charge in which she can answer your questions, provide a realistic assessment of your case and recommend the next steps to take. Call 970 663-0898 or use her contact form to schedule a call or a meeting office meeting.

Ms. Drake’s Philosophy

Says Jeanne: My philosophy is to attempt to obtain an equitable settlement which meets my client’s goals and, only if we are unable to reach an equitable settlement, go to trial.

I pay attention to every detail in each case so I can present your side effectively. I take each case very seriously and ensure I am always prepared to provide you with the highest quality of legal representation. I realize this is your life, your future and your children’s future.