What are the grounds for divorce in Colorado?
Tawni Cummings
Colorado managing attorney at Marble Law
Key Takeaways
- In Colorado, a no-fault divorce state, the only requirement for divorce is one spouse to state that there is an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage
- Neither spouse has to prove the other is at fault for the breakdown of their marriage.
- Proving fault doesn’t affect the terms of the marriage, such as spousal maintenance and property division.
Colorado is a no-fault divorce state. Unlike fault-based divorce states—where grounds for divorce might include adultery, cruelty, or abandonment—in Colorado, the only grounds for divorce is that the marriage is “irretrievably broken, with no hope of reconciliation”.
There’s no agreed-upon definition of “irretrievably broken” in Colorado. Instead, the court simply accepts this spouse's statement that the marriage is irretrievably broken without prying for details.
One party doesn’t have to prove their spouse is at fault in the breakdown of the marriage. And proving fault doesn’t impact how assets and debts are divided or whether spousal maintenance (also known as alimony) is awarded.
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What are the benefits of a no-fault divorce?
There are several upsides to a no-fault divorce being the only option in Colorado.
- The focus stays on the important things. When neither party needs to try to prove the other’s misbehavior, both spouses can devote their energy and time to resolving the important matters of the divorce. This may include distribution of marital assets and debt, spousal support and child custody and support.
- Quicker divorces. Although some cases may still take months to complete, no-fault divorces tend to wrap up more quickly than fault-based divorces. This is because there are fewer issues to discuss and resolve.
- Less expensive. Less time in court means you don’t need to use as much of your attorney’s time. And that typically leads to savings.
What are the downsides to a no-fault divorce?
Like any legal matter, no-fault divorces also have drawbacks. Most notably, any wrongdoing isn’t taken into consideration when determining how to divide assets. Therefore, if one spouse did something to cause the marriage to fall apart—such as adultery or abuse—the other spouse may feel it’s unfair if they both receive relatively equal allocations of property and child custody.
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