Colorado Family Law Attorney

Divorce:

The attorneys at Plog & Stein, P.C. are skilled in dealing with all aspects of divorce, including the division of complex marital assets, such as real estate, investments, business interests, and more. Divorces can be both contested or uncontested, depending on whether all substantive issues are agreed upon. Colorado is a no-fault divorce state, meaning grounds for divorce do not need to be proven. To obtain a divorce, at least one of the spouses must have resided in Colorado for 91 days prior to filing. We also deal with legal separation and dissolution of civil unions. Regardless of your marital circumstances, we can help.

Parenting Time and Child Custody:

Custody cases come in many forms. Whether you’re dealing with custody issues as part of a divorce or going through an allocation of parental responsibilities (custody) case, the ultimate conclusion can have a lasting impact regarding both the parenting time you have with your children and your legal right to make major decisions for them. Given the focus most parents place on their time with and the well-being of their children, we recognize how important child custody matters are to our clients. Some cases are more complex than others and may require input from an outside expert, such as a child and family investigator. Our Colorado family lawyers understand what it takes to effectively litigate or negotiate your custody case, both in and outside of the courtroom. We also deal with modifications of visitation time and enforcement of orders. Let us help you obtain custody orders in the best interest of your children.

Marital Asset Division:

The divorce attorneys at Plog & Stein, P.C. understand the nuances and importance of dividing the marital property accumulated over the length of your marriage.  In any case, the key to asset division is determining first what property is marital, secondly the value of the various items, and thirdly a sensible division plan comporting with both our clients’ wishes and divorce law. Over the years, we have effectively helped our many clients with both simple and complex asset division in their divorce. Not all property is valued or divided the same. For example, the valuation of a stock account is vastly different from valuing a pension plan. Valuing a business interest can be much more involved than determining a fair value for any marital real estate. At times, valuation and division may require the use of appraisers or other experts. At each turn, we will be there for you, with solid advice and sound advocacy. If agreements can’t be reached regarding dividing your marital property, we’ll be there for you in the courtroom as well.

Spousal Maintenance (Alimony): 

The issue of alimony will need to be dealt with in each divorce case. When both spouses have roughly similar incomes, it’s unlikely that either will be entitled to receive spousal maintenance from the other, and the issue should be dispensed with quickly. However, when there is a significant income disparity, an award of alimony may be appropriate. Pursuant to Colorado statute, in divorce cases in which the parties’ combined income is $240,000 or less, the court is likely to employ a statutory formula to determine an appropriate amount of spousal support. When the incomes exceed the $240,000 cap, factors such as standard of living, expenses, and more come into play. When dealing with the issue of alimony, our only goal is to make sure our clients are treated fairly, regardless of which side of the equation they are on. Oftentimes, arguments arise tied into income, including as relates to one party being unemployed or underemployed, or what exactly should be included as income for calculation purposes. In addition to resolving maintenance issues as part of the initial divorce, we also deal with both enforcement and modification of alimony orders.

Child Support:

In any custody case, the issue of child support will arise. Colorado statute dictates that children are entitled to appropriate financial support from each parent. As such, this is one of the major legal issues each of our experienced Colorado family law attorneys handle on a regular basis. Like cases involving spousal maintenance, income is the most significant factor when determining if one parent will pay child support and what the monthly amount will be. Of course, other factors such as the number of children and visitation time schedule can also have an impact on the support calculation. Beyond determining a monthly amount, child support orders typically require detail regarding other support provisions as relating to medical expenses, activities, tax ramifications, and how and when payments are made. In Colorado, support obligations run until a child turns 19, which often means that there may be one or more modifications of child support based on changes in circumstances that can arise over time. In each case, we use our extensive experience and knowledge of the law to help our clients establish, modify, and enforce their orders.