Stage 4 of 7
Reaching Agreement
This is where the substance of your divorce gets resolved — either through agreement between the parties or a judge's ruling at a contested hearing. It covers dividing everything you own and owe, establishing your parenting arrangement, and converting those agreements into binding court orders.
What happens in this stage
- 1Negotiate or litigate the division of marital property and debts
- 2Create a detailed parenting plan covering custody and parenting time
- 3Calculate and agree on child support and spousal maintenance
- 4Address complex assets like retirement accounts, a family business, or cryptocurrency
- 5Attend the final hearing to have agreements or rulings entered as court orders
Where you are
⚡ Key insight
Every word in your divorce decree is legally binding. Don't sign a parenting plan or property settlement without fully understanding what it says. Vague language — 'reasonable parenting time,' 'as agreed by the parties' — almost always leads to disputes. Get specifics in writing.
Complex assets benefit from professional review
Mistakes in property division are permanent. A targeted attorney review of your proposed settlement or financial disclosure can identify issues — hidden assets, QDRO requirements, tax consequences — before you sign anything.
No ongoing commitment. Targeted help for specific tasks.
Property and debts
Everything you own and owe as a couple, and how Colorado's equitable distribution law applies to dividing it.
Property Division
How Colorado courts divide marital property and debts: the distinction between marital and separate property, the equitable distribution standard under CRS 14-10-113, valuation of assets, and how agreements are reached or decided at trial.
The Marital Home
Options for handling the family home in a Colorado divorce: sale and division of proceeds, buyout by one spouse, deferred sale (occupancy agreement), and refinancing requirements. Factors courts consider when neither party agrees, including impact on minor children and each party's ability to qualify for a mortgage.
Debt Allocation
How marital debts are divided in a Colorado divorce, including mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and tax liabilities, and how to protect yourself if your spouse does not pay a debt assigned to them.
Retirement Accounts and QDROs
Division of retirement accounts — 401(k)s, pensions, IRAs — in a Colorado divorce, including how a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) works and the tax consequences of different division approaches.
Business Interests
Valuation and division of a closely held business, professional practice, or partnership interest in a Colorado divorce, including methods of business valuation and buyout options.
Digital Assets and Cryptocurrency
Identification, valuation, and division of digital assets in a Colorado divorce, including cryptocurrency, NFTs, stock options, restricted stock units, airline miles, and other intangible assets. Discovery strategies for locating undisclosed digital assets and tax consequences of transfers.
Tax Implications of Divorce
Tax consequences of divorce in Colorado, including filing status after separation, the dependency exemption for children, transfer of property, alimony tax treatment under current federal law, and capital gains on the marital home.
Children and parenting
Creating the legal framework for how you and your co-parent will raise your children after the divorce.
Creating the Parenting Plan
What must be included in a Colorado parenting plan under CRS 14-10-124, the best-interest factors courts consider when parents cannot agree, and how to structure a plan that works for children of different ages.
College and Post-Secondary Education Support
Colorado's authority under CRS 14-10-115 to order parents to contribute to a child's post-secondary education expenses beyond the age of emancipation: what expenses qualify, the cap tied to University of Colorado tuition, how contributions are allocated between parents, and how to include or modify these provisions.
Finalizing the case
What happens at the end of the case, what the decree covers, and what you need to do immediately after it's entered.
Insurance and Benefits Continuity
Health insurance, life insurance, and other benefits after divorce: COBRA continuation, requirement to maintain coverage for children, beneficiary designation changes, and Social Security benefits for long-term marriages.
The Final Hearing
What happens at the final divorce hearing or permanent orders hearing in Colorado: what to bring, how to present an agreement to the court, what happens if there is no agreement (contested hearing), and what the decree of dissolution means.
Name Change After Divorce
How to restore a former name or change your name through the Colorado divorce decree, what the decree must say to accomplish the name change, and the steps required after the decree to update identification, Social Security records, financial accounts, and other documents.