To file for legal separation in Colorado, you file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation in the district court for the county where you or your spouse lives, after at least one of you has been domiciled in the state for 91 days. The court then waits a mandatory 91 days from the date it has jurisdiction over your spouse before it can enter a decree. The process mirrors a divorce, with the same forms, filing fee, financial disclosures, and parenting requirements, but the marriage stays legally intact at the end.1Colorado Judicial Branch. Divorce or Legal Separation
Confirm You Meet the Requirements
Three things have to be true before a Colorado court will act on a legal separation petition.2Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-106 – Dissolution of Marriage and Legal Separation At least one spouse must have been domiciled in Colorado for 91 days before filing, meaning Colorado is your permanent home and you intend to stay. You must state in the petition that the marriage is irretrievably broken; Colorado is a no-fault state, so no proof of wrongdoing is required. And if you want the court to decide custody and parenting matters, Colorado must be the child’s home state, which generally means the child has lived here for the 182 days before filing. For a child younger than 182 days, Colorado qualifies if the child has lived here since birth.3Justia. Colorado Code 14-13-201 – Initial Child-Custody Jurisdiction
One more thing to know before you file. If you ask for a legal separation and your spouse wants a full divorce, the court will grant the divorce. Colorado law grants legal separation only if the other spouse does not object.2Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-106 – Dissolution of Marriage and Legal Separation Both spouses need to agree on the form of the case for it to end as a separation.
Gather Your Information and Forms
Pull together the full legal names and dates of birth for both spouses and any children, current addresses, and the date and place of your marriage. Then build a complete picture of your finances: real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, retirement accounts, and debts like credit cards and loans. You’ll need this detail for both the petition and the financial disclosures that come later.
The Colorado Judicial Branch publishes every form you need, free to download.1Colorado Judicial Branch. Divorce or Legal Separation The core documents are the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation, where you check the box for legal separation; a Case Information Sheet that acts as a cover for the court’s records; and a Summons, which is the formal notice to your spouse. If you and your spouse file together as copetitioners, no summons is needed because both of you already know about the case.
File the Petition and Pay the Filing Fee
Take your completed paperwork to the district court in the county where you or your spouse lives. You can file in person at the clerk’s office or electronically through the Colorado Courts E-Filing system. The filing fee is $260.4Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees If paying the fee would be a hardship, submit a Motion to Waive Fees (JDF 205) and ask the court to waive it.5Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 205 – Motion to Waive Fees
Serve Your Spouse
If you filed alone rather than jointly, your spouse must be formally notified. The easiest route is a Waiver of Service (JDF 1013), which your spouse signs to confirm they received the paperwork.6Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1013 – Waiver of Service
If your spouse won’t sign a waiver, arrange personal service. A third party who isn’t involved in the case, usually a sheriff’s deputy or a private process server, physically hands the petition and summons to your spouse and then files proof of service with the court. A private process server typically costs around $50 to $75, though fees vary.
The 91-Day Waiting Period
Colorado requires at least 91 days to pass between the court gaining jurisdiction over the responding spouse and the entry of a final decree.2Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-106 – Dissolution of Marriage and Legal Separation The clock starts when your spouse is served, signs the waiver, or joins the case as a copetitioner. Uncontested cases often finish shortly after the 91 days run out. Contested cases take longer.
During that window, either spouse can ask the court for temporary orders covering child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, use of the family home, payment of debts, and attorney fees.7Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-108 – Temporary Orders The court can also issue restraining orders to keep either spouse from hiding or disposing of property. Temporary orders stay in effect until the final decree replaces them. If the two of you can work out these arrangements informally or in a short written agreement, you’ll avoid the cost of a contested hearing.
Exchange Financial Disclosures and Complete the Parenting Class
Both spouses must complete a Sworn Financial Statement (JDF 1111) and exchange it with each other, along with supporting documents such as recent pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements.8Colorado Judicial Branch. Sworn Financial Statement The court uses these disclosures to divide property and set support. Hiding assets or income can lead to sanctions and a worse outcome.
If you have minor children, the court will order both parents to take a parenting class covering how separation affects children and how to co-parent effectively. Each parent files a certificate of completion. The court will not finalize your legal separation until the disclosures are exchanged and, where it applies, the parenting class certificates are on file.
Reach an Agreement or Go to a Hearing
Colorado encourages spouses to negotiate a written separation agreement that covers property division, spousal maintenance, and a parenting plan if there are children. The court approves the agreement unless the financial terms are unconscionable, meaning drastically unfair to one side. Terms involving children get closer scrutiny: the court independently decides whether the parenting arrangement serves the child’s best interests.9Colorado Public Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-112 – Separation Agreement
Once approved, the agreement becomes part of the court’s decree and is enforceable like any other court order. If the two of you can’t reach agreement on everything, the court holds hearings and decides the disputed issues. That path adds months and significant legal cost.
Converting a Legal Separation to a Divorce Later
If you decide later that you want a full divorce, you don’t have to start a new case. Colorado law lets either spouse convert a decree of legal separation into a decree of dissolution. You must wait at least 182 days after the separation decree was entered, then file a motion with the court that issued it.10Justia. Colorado Code 14-10-120 – Decree If only one spouse files the motion, the other must be notified and has 21 days to respond. The court then reviews the motion and, if approved, signs an order converting the separation to a divorce.11Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 1325 – Guide to Convert a Legal Separation to a Divorce The property division, support terms, and parenting plan from the separation decree generally carry forward.