domestic relations
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Appeals judge urges Colorado Supreme Court to analyze alimony obligations after spouses’ remarriage
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A member of Colorado’s second-highest court urged the state Supreme Court on Thursday to address a question that has produced inconsistent answers over five decades: When divorcing spouses agree that one must pay the other alimony, do they need to explicitly mention what will happen if the receiving spouse gets remarried? The purpose of alimony,…
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Colorado justices take comments on new family law rules, hear concerns about ‘informal’ proceedings
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The Colorado Supreme Court received generally supportive comments last month from the legal community on a sweeping set of new rules specific to family law cases, but also heard concerns about a proposal to move unrepresented litigants into “informal” trials where different rules apply. During a May 13 public hearing, the justices heard from multiple…
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Appeals court finds Denver judge relied on unsupported facts to restrict man’s parenting time
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that a Denver judge made “clearly erroneous” findings about a father’s sobriety and his request for parenting time when she imposed strict conditions on visitations with his children. Following a virtual April 2024 hearing in which both parents were without a lawyer, then-District Court Judge Jennifer Torrington issued an…
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‘Not gonna pro bono our way out of this problem’: Justice Melissa Hart speaks about solving access to justice
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Justice Melissa Hart and some of Colorado’s leading pro bono advocates spoke last month about the initiatives currently in place to provide legal assistance to unrepresented litigants, and delivered the message that more volunteer hours simply will not aid everyone who requires help. “We are not gonna pro bono our way out of this problem.…
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Colorado Supreme Court committee advances election-related change, goes back to work on magistrate rules
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The Colorado Supreme Court’s civil rules committee approved a procedural change on Friday for court challenges to presidential electors, a move that complies with legislation passed this year. The committee also heard from the Supreme Court that it must perform further work on proposed changes to the rules governing magistrates, after the justices heard criticism…
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Colorado Supreme Court weighs effort to streamline magistrate rules, aid litigants
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court took comments on Tuesday about proposed changes to the rules governing magistrates, where they heard that the attempt to streamline protocols still presents challenges for litigants and for the trial judges who review magistrate decisions. Magistrates are judicial employees who are not judges but who handle aspects of cases in the trial…
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Appeals court divided over meaning of judge’s parenting order
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Colorado’s second-highest court was split last week over whether to uphold an Arapahoe County judge’s parenting order, with two appellate judges interpreting the language differently than the parties and the third appellate judge. In the underlying case, the county filed a child neglect case on behalf of a 4-year-old girl. At an October 2023 hearing,…
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Q&A with Angela Arkin | Launch of Colorado’s licensed legal paraprofessional program underway
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Last year, the Colorado Supreme Court approved a framework for a new legal occupation that can represent clients in limited circumstances without a law degree: licensed legal paraprofessionals. On April 30, the first class of LLPs will sit for an exam, and soon afterward will be able to handle aspects of divorce, custody and other…
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Q&A with Angela Arkin | Launch of Colorado’s licensed legal paraprofessional program underway
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Last year, the Colorado Supreme Court approved a framework for a new legal occupation that can represent clients in limited circumstances without a law degree: licensed legal paraprofessionals. On April 30, the first class of LLPs will sit for an exam, and soon afterward will be able to handle aspects of divorce, custody and other…
