Modification & Enforcement Lawyers

Colorado family law, covered under Title 14, encompasses various legal issues related to familial relationships, including marriage, divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, adoption, and more. Understanding the basics of Colorado family law is essential for individuals navigating legal matters related to their families. Here are some fundamental aspects of the state’s family law:

Marriage and Divorce

• Marriage: In Colorado, individuals must meet specific legal requirements to marry, such as age and mental capacity.
• Divorce: Colorado is a no-fault state, meaning neither spouse needs to prove fault or wrongdoing to obtain a divorce and can seek dissolution of the marriage based on its irretrievable breakdown.

Child Custody and Parenting Time

• Legal custody: Legal custody refers to the authority to make significant decisions regarding a child’s upbringing, including education, healthcare, and religion.
• Physical custody: Physical custody determines where the child resides.
• Parenting time: Parenting time, also called visitation, refers to the time a child spends with each parent.

Child Support

• Child support: Colorado has specific guidelines for calculating child support based on the parents’ incomes, number of children, and other factors. Child support payments are intended to cover the child’s basic needs, including food, shelter, clothing, and medical care.

Spousal Support (Alimony)

• Spousal support: Colorado recognizes different types of spousal support, including temporary maintenance and permanent support. Various factors are considered when determining the amount and duration of alimony, including the duration of the marriage, each spouse’s financial resources, and the standard of living established during the marriage.

Property Division

• Property division: Colorado follows the principle of equitable distribution when dividing marital property in a divorce, which includes assets and debts acquired during the marriage. Various factors are considered when dividing marital property, including each spouse’s contributions to the marriage, their economic circumstances, and any relevant agreements between the parties.

Adoption

• Types of adoption: Colorado allows for various types of adoption, including domestic, international, and stepparent adoptions and adoptions of children in foster care.

Domestic Violence and Protection Orders

• Domestic violence laws: Colorado has laws in place under Title 18 to protect individuals from domestic violence, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and stalking.
• Protection orders: Domestic violence victims can seek protection orders, or restraining orders, from the court to prohibit the abuser from contacting or coming near them or their children.

Sometimes, the orders put in place after a divorce that pertain to these family law topics need to be changed or enforced. A divorce modification lawyer in Colorado can help you with these modifications and enforcements. We are here to help you protect your and your family’s rights.

Reasons for Modifying Court Orders

In Colorado, modifying a court order involves requesting a change to its terms. You must demonstrate a substantial change in circumstances for the court to modify the existing order. Common reasons for seeking modifications include:

• Change in financial circumstances: This can include a loss of employment, a significant decrease in income, an increase in expenses related to childcare, education, or medical needs, or a change in either spouse’s financial situation that affects their ability to comply with the existing court order for child support, spousal support, or other financial obligations.
• Relocation: This can include when the parent with primary custody wishes to relocate to another location with the child, which may necessitate modifications to the existing parenting plan, including changes to custody arrangements, visitation schedules, and transportation arrangements.
• Changes in child’s needs: This can include significant changes in your child’s health, education, or developmental needs, changes in their extracurricular activities or schedule that affect visitation arrangements, or concerns about their safety or well-being in your current custody arrangement.
• Parenting time or custody disputes: This may include allegations of parental alienation, interference with parenting time, or concerns about your child’s relationship with one parent, leading to requests for changes to custody or visitation arrangements.
• Change in residence: This can include the relocation of one or both parents, affecting their ability to comply with the existing court order, or a change in residence or living arrangements of the child, such as moving in with a new partner or family member.
• Change in relationship status: This can include the remarriage of one spouse to another person or a spouse cohabitating with a paramour or lover.
• Health-related issues: This may include a severe illness, disability, or medical condition affecting a parent or your child, or changes in medical insurance coverage or your child’s healthcare needs.
• Educational needs: This can include changes in your child’s school or educational requirements or requests for modifications to accommodate their academic or extracurricular activities.
• Change in employment status: This can include a promotion or job transfer, affecting one parent’s work schedule or ability to fulfill parenting responsibilities, or a change in employment status, such as transitioning from full-time to part-time employment or starting a new job with different hours.
• Substance abuse or domestic violence: This may include allegations of substance abuse or addiction by one parent, affecting their ability to provide a safe and stable environment for your child or concerns about domestic violence or abuse impacting your child’s or your safety and well-being.
• Compliance issues: This can include the failure of one party to comply with the terms of the existing court order, such as non-payment of child support, refusal to adhere to parenting time schedules, or instances of contempt of court related to non-compliance with court orders.

Types of Modifications

You can seek several types of modifications to existing court orders. Common types of family law modifications include:

• Child custody: A modification to child custody refers to changes to your child’s legal or physical custody arrangements. A child custody modification attorney can request alterations to primary custody, joint custody, or parenting time schedules.
• Parenting time: A modification to parenting time refers to changes in the visitation of parents or guardians with their children.
• Child support: A modification to child support refers to adjustments in the amount of child support payments made by a parent. Our child support modification lawyers can request changes to child support if a parent has a change in financial circumstances or if a change in child custody or visitation warrants modifications to a current order.
• Spousal support: A modification to spousal support refers to changes in the amount or duration of alimony payments made by one spouse to the other. If a party’s financial circumstances change due to a career change, job loss, or remarriage, a spousal support modification attorney can request a support change.
• Parental responsibilities: Modifying parental responsibilities refers to changes in a parent’s decision-making authority regarding your child’s health, education, religion, or other significant matters.
• Property division: A modification of property division refers to changes in how marital property is divided. Property division modifications may be sought if there are significant changes in the value of marital assets or allegations of fraud or misrepresentation during the property division process.

Colorado courts typically consider the child’s best interests when evaluating modification requests involving custody, visitation, child support, and parental responsibilities. It is essential to consult with a divorce modification attorney to understand your rights and options regarding modification to existing court orders. Our Griffiths Law family law attorneys can draft and file the appropriate documentation required to request a modification to your current arrangements.

Options for Resolving Your Modification Request

In addition to seeking intervention from the court to modify your family court order, we can explore alternative dispute resolution options to resolve your issue. Resolving your modification request often requires reaching an agreement that serves the best interests of all parties involved, especially any children. Depending on the nature of your modification issue, there are options available for resolution:

Mediation

Mediation involves the help of a neutral third-party mediator who facilitates confidential discussions between the parties to help them reach a mutually acceptable resolution. During mediation, you and the other party can express your concerns, identify common ground, and explore potential solutions. Your modification and enforcement lawyer can help you prepare for mediation and will help you maintain realistic expectations for your modification request.

Arbitration

Arbitration also involves a neutral third party, but an arbitrator acts more like a judge. The arbitrator listens to arguments, reviews evidence from both parties and then makes a binding decision regarding your family law issues. Their decision can be enforced through the court system if necessary.

If alternative dispute resolution methods, including mediation and arbitration, are unsuccessful, you may need to pursue resolution of your modification issue through court proceedings. Our family law attorneys at Griffiths Law can provide valuable assistance, including legal strategy, advocacy, and representation in court. Having an experienced lawyer by your side can improve your chances of success in a family court modification request by ensuring your rights are protected, your arguments are effectively presented, and the legal process is navigated smoothly.

Enforcement of Court Orders

Orders regarding the above family law issues are enforceable in Colorado courts. When a party fails to comply with a court order, enforcement actions may be necessary to compel compliance. Common enforcement issues in family law cases include:

• Child support: When a non-custodial parent fails to pay court-ordered child support, enforcement actions may be necessary to compel payment.
• Parenting time: If one parent interferes with the other’s court-ordered visitation time, enforcement actions may be necessary to ensure compliance with your parenting plan.
• Property division: Failure to comply with court-ordered property division in divorce may require enforcement actions.
• Spousal support: If a party fails to comply with court-ordered alimony payments, wage garnishments, or contempt proceedings may be necessary to enforce compliance.

Your ex-spouse’s failure to abide by the court’s order can result in undue hardship for you. A child support or child custody enforcement attorney or spousal support enforcement lawyer can collect evidence to support your claim of non-compliance and file a motion to enforce compliance.

Enforcement Measures in Colorado

In cases involving the enforcement of existing family law court orders, you may take legal action to compel compliance with the terms of the order. If the court finds your allegations of non-compliance true, it can impose sanctions, including fines, attorneys’ fees, and, in severe cases, incarceration, to compel compliance. Other enforcement actions may include the following:

• Income withholding orders: For child support enforcement, the court may issue an income withholding order (IWO) requiring the paying party’s employer to withhold child support payments directly from their wages. This ensures timely compliance and consistent payments.
• Credit reporting: Colorado’s Child Support Services (CSS) must report past-due child support to the credit bureaus monthly.
• Seizure of assets: In cases of non-payment of child support or spousal support, the court can authorize the seizure of the non-compliant party’s assets, such as bank accounts or real property, to satisfy the outstanding support obligations.
• Driver’s license suspension: Colorado law allows the suspension of a non-paying party’s driver’s license or recreational license for failure to pay child support.
• Passport denial: The state can deny a non-paying party’s passport application or renewal if they owe significant child support.
• Interception of tax refunds: The Colorado Department of Human Services may intercept tax refunds to satisfy outstanding child support.

Protect yourself and your family with the help of Griffiths Law PC

At Griffiths Law, we understand families’ challenges when seeking to modify existing court orders or enforce compliance with them. If you are facing a modification or enforcement issue in Colorado, we are here to help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can assist you in protecting your rights and ensuring compliance with your family court order.