Divorce With Children in Colorado: A Parent’s Guide
A complete, plain-English guide to divorce, parenting time, decision-making, child support, and protecting your family’s future in Colorado — written by April D. Jones, Founder and CEO of Jones Law Firm, PC.
What This Guide Covers
Divorce with children is about building the legal structure your family will live under afterward, two homes, parenting time, decision-making responsibility, child support, and the financial decisions that follow. This guide explains what Colorado courts look for, which choices matter most, and how to prepare.
- The critical information to understand before you file or respond
- How Colorado handles parenting time, decision-making, and child support
- How property, debt, the family home, and maintenance are decided
- What happens after final orders, enforcement, modifications, and relocation
Inside the Guide
Divorce With Children in Colorado
How Divorce With Children Works in Colorado
What to Do Before Filing for Divorce With Children in Colorado
Temporary Orders in a Colorado Divorce With Children
What Happens to the House, Property, and Debt in Divorce
How Child Custody Is Decided in a Colorado Divorce
How Parenting Time Works in Colorado Divorce
Who Makes Major Decisions for Children After Divorce in Colorado
How Child Support Works in Colorado Divorce Cases
How Spousal Maintenance Works in Colorado Divorce
How Mediation and Settlement Work in a Colorado Divorce With Children
Domestic Violence, Safety, and Divorce With Children
Custody Evaluations in Colorado: CFIs, PREs, and Professional Assessments
How to Enforce Divorce, Parenting, and Support Orders
How to Modify or Change Divorce Orders After Final Orders
Moving With a Child After Divorce in Colorado
Moving Forward After Divorce With Children
You don’t have to face this process alone
Divorce with children asks parents to make serious decisions when family life already feels uncertain. You may be worried about losing time with your children, protecting them from conflict, keeping the family home, paying support, managing expenses, or understanding what happens next.
I founded Jones Law Firm in 2000 to help Colorado families make strong decisions during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Since then, I have guided parents through divorce, parenting disputes, financial conflict, and the legal decisions that shape their children’s futures. My goal is to help you understand the process before deadlines, conflict, guilt, or fear start driving your choices.
When divorce involves children, the case is not only about ending a marriage. It is about creating a workable structure for two homes, parenting time, decision-making responsibility, child support, financial obligations, and daily routines your children can count on.
In Colorado, divorce is legally called dissolution of marriage. Parenting issues are addressed through allocation of parental responsibilities, which includes parenting time and decision-making responsibility. Child support is calculated under Colorado’s child support guidelines. Property and debt are divided equitably, which means fairly, not always equally.
The legal language may sound formal, but the heart of the issue is practical: your children need safety, consistency, and parents who can make thoughtful decisions even when the marriage is ending.
Divorce with children is not the moment to guess, react, or let pressure make the plan. Parents often enter this process afraid, angry, exhausted, or unsure where to begin. They make better decisions when they understand the law, organize the facts, and focus on what protects their children, their finances, and their credibility.
This guide explains what Colorado courts look for, which choices matter, what mistakes can hurt your position, and how to prepare for the legal, financial, and parenting decisions ahead.
At Jones Law Firm, we believe parents deserve direct guidance, practical preparation, and strong advocacy when their family’s future is being reshaped. Use this guide as a starting point. Read the sections that match your situation. Then get advice before making decisions that could affect your children, your finances, your parenting time, or your role in your children’s lives.