Eagle Family Law Attorney

Eagle Family Law Lawyer

When it comes to family legal matters, the law can be complex and difficult to understand. It can also bring out sensitivities in those involved. While it can be a delicate time for everyone, having the right legal counsel by your side can help tremendously. If you are in need of assistance, a skilled Eagle family law attorney can help.

Woody Law Firm, LLC: An Eagle Family Law Attorney You Can Trust

At Woody Law Firm, LLC, we are dedicated to providing you with the support you need to resolve your family law issue. We know that when someone needs a family law attorney, they need someone who is well-versed in the law. Not only that, but they need a firm that will be sensitive and compassionate to their needs, as well as fight for their rights. Woody Law Firm, LLC can provide that for you.

With a deep understanding of both the legal and emotional intricacies involved in family law matters, we walk our Eagle, CO, clients through the legal process with care, knowledge, and empathy.

We have an exclusive focus on family law, offering high-quality counsel to you and your loved ones. We have been practicing in family law for many years and understand the importance of your family’s well-being and future. We will advocate for you to reach the greatest outcome of your circumstance.

Types of Cases We Handle

Family Law covers a wide range of different cases. We offer legal assistance to individuals and families navigating the legal complexities of their familial and personal relationships. These areas include:

• Divorce
• Child custody
• Grandparent visitation
• Dissolution of civil unions, domestic partnerships, common law marriage, and same-sex marriage
• Legal separation
• Premarital and marital agreements
• Step-parent and second-parent adoptions

Divorce

While divorce can seem pretty simple, in many cases, there are many complexities and issues that need to be worked out before a marriage can end. In simple cases, both spouses can walk away from a marriage in agreement with all issues involved. In other cases, they may need a lawyer or mediator to assist them with the legal complexities and requirements, as well as the necessities for time spent in court, if necessary.

We handle simple divorce cases. We also handle complex divorce negotiations, settlements, and litigation. A complex divorce is any divorce that has mitigating factors. These are aspects that may not be present in typical divorce proceedings and can generally take longer to resolve, such as high-value assets, alimony, complicated property division, or significant debt.

Child Custody

Child custody arrangements deal with the living arrangements of the child. There are different ways that parenting time can be arranged. Most times, child custody is split in some way between the two primary parents. In other circumstances, a grandparent or another family member or friend may be seeking custody if it is in the greatest interest of the child.

Under normal circumstances, the law dictates that both of a child’s parents contribute to the upbringing of the child. However, if the parents become divorced, separated in some way, or generally become uninvolved with each other, things become a bit more complex. A child custody arrangement will dictate how much time each parent gets to spend with the child.

All facts of the family circumstances will be considered in making these determinations, including each parent’s financial status, their ability to economically, financially, and emotionally care for their child, and any hindrances that can cause them to not fulfill their parental duties, such as unstable housing, drug or alcohol abuse, or domestic violence. These arrangements will also specify which, if not both, parent has decision-making rights for the child.

Grandparent Visitation

While custody arrangements mainly center around the time spent between the child(ren)’s primary parents, grandparents can also fight for their rights in family court. The parents of the noncustodial parent can be granted visitation rights under Colorado law. In some cases, they may even request some form of custody, but grandparent rights mainly center around visitation.

Dissolution of Common Law Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic Partnerships

Colorado is one of a few states that recognize common-law marriage. In a common-law marriage, a couple may act and behave as a traditional married couple, but they may have started the marital relationship in nontraditional ways.

For example, the couple may have had a non-religious wedding ceremony and/or did not formally and legally file marriage paperwork, but they may introduce themselves as a married couple to loved ones, claim a spouse on tax returns, and/or have children together. By Colorado law, there is no distinction between a common law marriage and a traditional marriage.

Some factors a court will look for to establish if a common law marriage exists include cohabitation, formal announcement to loved ones, joint tax filings, spousal or public benefits, and buying property together. If a couple is looking to dissolve their common law marriage, proceedings will begin similarly to a divorce. Our attorneys can help you understand the process for a common law dissolution.

We can also assist in the dissolution of domestic partnerships and civil unions. Domestic partnerships and civil unions are similar in that they offer certain rights and privileges that are also afforded to married couples. Civil unions have certain rights and protections on the state level but not the federal level. They are available to couples of any kind as long as they are not related.

Domestic partnerships are similar to civil unions.  However, they are offered to intimate couples who share a residence. In Colorado, the two are seen as similar.

We also provide legal counsel for the dissolution of same-sex marriages. Same-sex marriages have the same rights as opposite-sex marriages. Therefore, the divorce process will likely be similar.

Legal Separation

If you and your spouse are considering dissolving your relationship, there are other options other than divorce. One of those options is legal separation. In a legal separation, you do not have to go through the finality of divorce, but both you and your spouse can maintain your independence and live separately as you see fit.

When it comes to separation, simply put, you and your spouse would be married in some ways and divorced in others. For example, you can still file taxes without claiming to be single, and there may be other benefits, such as life and health insurance, if you still decide to share them.

However, there are ways that you would operate as a divorced couple. For instance, in a legal separation, the couple typically decides to live separately. They may have their own residence, finances, and even social lives.

Legal separation is not required in order to have a divorce, but some people choose it as a step before divorce. Spouses can come up with a separation agreement, which covers negotiations on how they want the separation to be. This document would be legally binding and cover topics such as child custody, child visitation, alimony, child support, and the division of property.

This is a good option for those who no longer wish to live with their spouse but are not ready for the finality of a divorce.

Premarital and Marital Agreements

A premarital agreement, commonly referred to as a prenuptial agreement, is a document that a couple signs before they get married. The document outlines assets and debts that the couple wishes to be protected in the event of a divorce. These assets would remain separate while the couple is married, therefore excluding them from being split in the event of a divorce.

While there is a stigma surrounding prenuptial agreements, resulting in much misinformation, a premarital agreement can cover more than what is commonly believed. For instance, it is widely believed that most couples enter a prenuptial agreement when one spouse is wealthy and wants to protect their assets and themselves from being taken advantage of.

However, a lawyer can also help draft a prenuptial agreement that prevents debts from being shared in a marriage as well. This is a beneficial option if one spouse has a large amount of debt before entering the marriage.

For instance, if your spouse took out a large loan, once you become married, half the loan becomes yours. In the event of divorce, you would still be responsible for half the loan. If you and your spouse create a prenuptial agreement that prevents you from incurring that debt, you would be absolved of that responsibility in the event of divorce.

We also assist in creating postnuptial agreements, which are essentially the same as prenuptial agreements but are created after the couple has married.

It is worth noting that these types of marital agreements only cover certain assets. Signing an agreement does not mean you or your spouse would receive nothing in the event of divorce. For example, if you sign a prenuptial agreement that prevents you from sharing in the profits of a certain property your spouse owned, but throughout the marriage, you purchase three more properties together.

In the event of divorce, you would not receive benefits from the property outlined in the prenuptial agreement, but any marital property obtained together would still be subject to equal division between the two of you.

An attorney can help you ensure that your document is done legally, that your interests are protected, and help you create a document that is unique to your situation.

Step-Parent and Second-Parent Adoptions

Step-parent and second-parent adoptions can be lengthy processes. To adopt a stepchild, certain criteria must be met. Some of these include:

• The biological parent must have neglected their parental duties
• The biological parent has neglected to pay child support for an extended period of time (and you have no reason to believe that they will resume doing so)
• The biological parent passed away
• The biological parent has agreed to relinquish custody

Second-parent adoption is a bit different than step-parent adoption. In second-parent adoption, the primary parent does not lose their rights. This is common in nontraditional families and LGBTQIA+ families. In these cases, the adoptive parent has the same rights as the biological parent(s).

FAQs

Q: How Much Is a Family Lawyer in Colorado?

A: The cost of hiring a family lawyer in Colorado varies based on a number of different factors. First, it depends on whether the attorney charges by the hour or one flat fee. Because family law covers a range of situations, there is a range in the amount of time it would take a lawyer to complete different tasks. For instance, hiring a lawyer to help draft a prenuptial agreement will generally be significantly cheaper than a complex divorce attorney.

Q: How Much Does Divorce Cost in Colorado?

A: The cost of a divorce varies in Colorado depending on the circumstances of the divorce. The largest expense is usually your attorney’s fees. While not all divorces require an attorney, most people hire one when going through a divorce. Filing fees, court costs, mediation costs, and other miscellaneous expenses also contribute to the cost of divorce. Generally speaking, the more complex your divorce is, the higher the cost will be.

Q: Can You Contest a Divorce in Colorado?

A: It is possible to contest a divorce in Colorado. There are many reasons someone may want to contest a divorce. Some of these include challenging a divorce settlement on the basis of fraud, dishonesty, or coercion. A spouse can also contest some of the legal issues, such as asset allocation, property division, and child support.

Q: What Can Be Used Against You in a Divorce in Colorado?

A: In a divorce in Colorado, there are several things that can be used against you. Some of these include infidelity, poor financial habits, social media usage (this includes things you may say or post on social media), texts and emails, restraining orders, domestic violence, substance abuse, parental neglect, insanity, or prison time.

Contact Woody Law Firm, LLC Today

Navigating the complexities of family law can be overwhelming. Woody Law Firm, LLC exclusively deals with these complexities, as we believe in the importance of your family’s future. If you have a family issue that you need legal counsel for, contact us today for more information.