Colorado Divorce Checklist: Filings, Waiting Period, and Disclosures

A Colorado divorce checklist starts with one residency rule and ends with a mandatory waiting period: at least one spouse must have lived in Colorado for 91 days before filing, and the court cannot enter a final decree until 91 days after the other spouse is formally brought into the case.¹ In between, you file a petition and supporting forms, pay a $260 fee, serve your spouse if you did not file jointly, exchange detailed financial disclosures, and, if you have minor children, submit a parenting plan and complete a court-approved parenting class. Colorado is a no-fault state, so no one has to prove wrongdoing. The only ground is that the marriage is irretrievably broken.

Residency and Grounds

At least one spouse must have been domiciled in Colorado for 91 consecutive days immediately before the case is filed.¹ Domicile means Colorado is your permanent home, not just where you happen to be staying. A driver’s license, lease, utility bills, or testimony can establish it.

The only legal ground for divorce in Colorado is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Fault grounds like infidelity or abandonment are not recognized. One spouse can state the marriage is broken even if the other disagrees.²

Documents You File to Start the Case

Three core forms open a Colorado divorce case:

Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (JDF 1101). This identifies whether you are filing alone as Petitioner or jointly with your spouse as Co-Petitioners. Filing jointly skips formal service of process.³
Case Information Sheet (JDF 1000). Collects Social Security numbers, dates of birth, mailing addresses, and contact information for both spouses, plus the same information for any children under 19 from the marriage.⁴
Summons for Dissolution of Marriage (JDF 1102). Required only if you are not filing jointly. Your spouse can skip formal service by signing a Waiver of Service (JDF 1102(a)).³

All of these forms are free on the Colorado Judicial Branch website. Check every name, date, and address before filing. Errors here cause avoidable delays.

Filing Fee and Serving Your Spouse

The filing fee is $260.⁵ If you cannot afford it, the court has a fee waiver application.

If you are filing alone, your spouse must be served. You can use the county sheriff, a private process server, or any adult over 18 who is not involved in the case.⁶ You cannot hand the papers to your spouse yourself. Private process servers typically charge $50 to $200.

The 91-Day Waiting Period

Colorado requires a 91-day minimum wait before the court can enter a final decree. The clock does not start when you file. It starts when the court gains jurisdiction over the respondent, which happens through personal service, the respondent joining as a Co-Petitioner, or the respondent otherwise appearing in the case.¹ Delays in getting your spouse served push everything back.

The Automatic Temporary Injunction

The moment your spouse is served, or the moment you file jointly as Co-Petitioners, an automatic temporary injunction takes effect against both spouses and stays in place until the decree is entered or the court lifts it.⁷ You do not request it. It happens automatically, and the terms are printed on the summons and petition.

While the injunction is in place:

Neither spouse can transfer, hide, or dispose of marital property without the other’s written consent or a court order, aside from ordinary living expenses and usual business transactions.
Neither spouse can harass or disturb the peace of the other.
Neither parent can remove minor children from Colorado without the other parent’s consent or a court order.
Neither spouse can cancel, modify, or let lapse any health, homeowner’s, renter’s, auto, or life insurance covering either spouse or the children without at least 14 days’ written notice to the other spouse and either their consent or a court order.⁷

Draining a joint account, canceling your spouse’s health plan, or taking the children on an out-of-state trip while the case is pending can trigger contempt and will damage your standing with the judge.

Mandatory Financial Disclosures

Both spouses have to disclose their finances in full under Rule 16.2 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. The centerpiece is the Sworn Financial Statement (JDF 1111, also called Form 35.2), which details gross monthly income from all sources, monthly expenses, assets, and debts.⁸ Income includes wages, bonuses, commissions, self-employment earnings, investment returns, and government benefits.

The mandatory disclosure checklist (Form 35.1, JDF 1125) tells you which supporting documents to hand over:

Federal personal and business tax returns for the three years before filing, with all schedules, W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s.
Pay stubs and income statements for the current and prior calendar year. Self-employed parties must provide a sworn statement of gross income, business expenses, and net income for the three months before filing.
The most recent statements for every bank and financial account.
Any personal or business financial statements, asset/liability statements, or loan applications prepared in the last three years.⁹

If you have business interests, multiple properties, or other complex assets, you also complete Supporting Schedules (JDF 1111SS) and attach them to the Sworn Financial Statement.¹⁰ Hiding assets is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility with a judge and can result in sanctions or the case being reopened years after the decree.

What Gets Divided and How

Colorado divides marital property based on what the court considers fair, not necessarily 50/50. The judge sets aside each spouse’s separate property and then divides the marital property “in such proportions as the court deems just,” weighing each spouse’s contribution to acquiring the property (including homemaking), the value set apart to each spouse, each spouse’s economic circumstances at the time of division, and changes in the value of separate property during the marriage.¹¹

Marital property is everything acquired by either spouse during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title. The main exceptions are gifts, inheritances, and property excluded by a valid agreement like a prenup.¹¹ If you owned an asset before the marriage but its value increased during the marriage, the appreciation may be treated as marital property.

Spousal maintenance (Colorado’s term for alimony) is calculated under advisory guidelines when the marriage lasted at least three years and combined annual adjusted gross income does not exceed $240,000.¹² Above that income threshold, no formula applies and the court exercises broad discretion. The guidelines are advisory, so the judge can deviate based on each spouse’s financial resources, the property division, and the standard of living during the marriage. For divorces finalized after 2018, maintenance is not tax-deductible for the payer and not taxable to the recipient.

If You Have Minor Children

Three additional obligations attach when children are involved.

Parenting Plan

You file a Parenting Plan (JDF 1113) spelling out where the children will live, how parents will share decision-making for education, healthcare, extracurriculars, and religious upbringing, and a detailed schedule covering weekdays, weekends, holidays, and school breaks.¹³ The plan also describes how the children physically get from one home to the other. Parents can submit a joint plan or each file their own for the court to decide.

Joint decision-making and equal parenting time are separate issues. You can share decisions without splitting overnights evenly, and the plan should say so clearly.

Child Support

Colorado uses a statewide formula that accounts for both parents’ gross income, the number of overnights with each parent, health insurance costs, daycare expenses, and support obligations for children from other relationships.¹⁴ You complete a Child Support Worksheet, and the court generally follows the guideline amount unless a party shows deviation is appropriate.

Parenting Class

Both parents must take a court-approved parenting class and file a certificate of completion before the court will enter a final decree.¹⁵ Each judicial district maintains its own approved list, and most providers offer online options. Scheduling and completing the class takes time, so start early. A missing certificate will delay finalization.

Loose Ends to Handle Before the Decree

Health Insurance

If you are covered under your spouse’s employer-sponsored plan, divorce is a qualifying event under federal COBRA law, and you lose eligibility for that plan when the decree is entered.¹⁶ You or a family member must notify the plan administrator within 60 days of the divorce to preserve the right to continue coverage.¹⁷ COBRA can last up to 36 months, but you pay the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee. Shop individual plans on the Colorado marketplace before your decree enters so you have a backup. The automatic injunction protects your coverage during the case, but that protection ends the day the decree is signed.

Retirement Accounts

Retirement benefits earned during the marriage are marital property and subject to division. Splitting a 401(k), pension, or similar employer-sponsored plan requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), a separate court order directed at the plan administrator. Federal law requires a QDRO to identify the participant and alternate payee by name and address, specify the dollar amount or percentage, state the number of payments or time period, and name each retirement plan involved.¹⁸

A QDRO is not part of the standard divorce forms. It typically requires a specialized attorney or QDRO preparation service, and the plan administrator must approve it before any funds move. IRAs do not need a QDRO; they can be split through a transfer incident to divorce, but the decree must specifically authorize the division.

Mediation

Colorado courts have broad authority to order mediation, especially on parenting time and decision-making, and can split the cost between the parties. Mediation is not ordered when one party reports being a victim of physical or psychological abuse and is unwilling to participate. Outside that exception, a party can file a motion within five days of a referral to request an exemption but must show compelling reasons. Private mediators in Colorado charge roughly $100 to $300 or more per hour, and a few sessions that produce an agreement can eliminate months of contested proceedings.

If a Spouse Is on Active Military Duty

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets an active-duty service member pause the proceedings. The service member can request a stay of at least 90 days by submitting a letter explaining how military duties prevent them from appearing, along with a letter from their commanding officer confirming leave is not authorized. The court must grant the initial stay when the conditions are met. Additional stays can be requested if service continues to interfere, and if an additional stay is denied, the court must appoint an attorney to represent the absent service member.¹⁹ These protections are not automatic. The service member or their attorney must request them. The SCRA also reaches child custody proceedings, so the same stay provisions apply where parenting time is at issue.

1
Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-106 – Dissolution of Marriage – Legal Separation
2
Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-110 – Irretrievable Breakdown
3
Judicial Legal Help Center. Step 2 – File
4
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1000 – Case Information Sheet
5
Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees
6
Colorado Judicial Branch. How to Serve Court Papers in Divorce and Custody Cases
7
Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-107 – Pleadings – Automatic Temporary Injunction
8
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1111 – Sworn Financial Statement – Form 35.2
9
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1125 – Mandatory Disclosure Form 35.1
10
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1111 SS – Supporting Schedules for Assets
11
Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-113 – Disposition of Property
12
Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-114 – Spousal Maintenance – Advisory Guidelines
13
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1113 – Parenting Plan
14
Colorado Child Support Services. Calculating Payments
15
Colorado Judicial Branch. Parenting Classes
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1163 – Qualifying Event
17
U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers
18
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 1056 – Form and Payment of Benefits
19
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3932 – Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice