The Colorado Springs Family Law Blog

In a culture that is accustomed to divorce, it may seem like newfound singlehood would be a welcome "second chance," but few people agree on what that means. Does a divorce signal the beginning of dating? Some divorcees have their online dating profiles already written before the divorce is final, while others are happy to sit by the sidelines for a while.

When couples divorce, it's not unusual for them to part with vastly different expectations about what happens next. Couples often agree to share college expenses even when they have little intention of actually doing so. If you are a custodial parent and you expect the noncustodial parent to help with college it is best to get this in writing as a part of a divorce settlement. Even then it may be difficult to enforce in court.

If you are married with young children it might not seem like you hear about many couples getting divorced, but for some reason late-life divorce is on the rise. According to an article that appeared in Huffington Post Divorce, "The Gray Divorcés," the divorce rate for people over 50 has doubled in just the past twenty years. Why would baby boomers call it quits after they've already spent so much of their life together? It all depends on who you ask.

This may sounds like a controversial topic, but it's one that was recently presented in an article in the Huffington Post "Divorce" section. In "Women: Five Reasons Your Divorce Is Your Fault," best-selling author Laura Doyle ("Six Lessons for Lasting Love") explains that women are the ones with the power to make their relationships intimate. In fact, when she teaches intimacy skills she only teaches them to women because she knows that when a women learns these skills her relationship becomes peaceful and intimate in just a couple of weeks. Does this sound too good to be true? Believe it. Doyle's clients often say they feel like they have a new husband. But too often, women don't learn about what they could have done until it's too late to save their marriage.

Anyone who has been through a divorce knows exactly what they would do differently next time, but sometimes a prenuptial agreement seems a little excessive. If you’re considering taking the plunge for a second time, you may have older children, aging parents and various investments. It is wise to consider whether you need to protect your interests with a prenuptial agreement.

When marital vows break down, most people are thinking about their immediate needs; a lawyer, separate checking accounts, a property settlement and a fair distribution of assets. Unless tax time is just around the corner, chances are that most couples aren't thinking about the impact of divorce on their taxes. But divorce may have a serious effect on how you file your tax returns, and it might be something worth discussing well in advance of April 15th.

It seems like someone who has been through a divorce would be extremely careful about entering a new relationship, but people tend to forget all the mistakes they made in the past. Perhaps it's the resilience of the human spirit, or maybe it's the desire to find happiness after a particularly difficult split; but men and women tend to jump back into the dating pool without checking the depth of the water.

Whether you've already started dating again or you're about to take the plunge, there's a pretty good chance you will exhibit one of the three most common dating behaviors. But if your goal is to move on from your marriage and find the right partner, these dating dangers should be avoided.

You may have come to the conclusion that your marriage is beyond repair, and you are finally taking that first step toward a divorce. While a divorce might seem like the most logical step, by the time most women get around to it they have already made some costly mistakes. If there is one thing I've learned as a divorce lawyer in Colorado Springs, it is the importance of protecting your financial future in a divorce. The best Colorado divorce attorneys advise their clients to seek out the most financially expedient ways to get out of their marriage without compromising on the divorce settlement.

Today's children have access to more data through the four inch screen of the latest "smartphone" as one would expect to find in a massive public library. As an educator and a Colorado Springs family lawyer, it's hard not to be intrigued by recent advances in technology; but parents need to be aware of the consequences of overexposure. Children still need to experience a variety of "real world" activities, beyond a rectangular screen, in order to grow into well-rounded adults.

If you think the complications of divorce came to a close on the day you received your divorce decree; think again. Ask any Colorado Springs family lawyer, and they will tell you that your divorce will continue to be a factor to be dealt with, even well into your retirement years. Fortunately, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has thought of everything. They even devoted several pages on their website (www.SSA.gov) to help divorced people understand their benefit options.

When people go through a divorce, and the wounds of a failed marriage are still fresh, it's easy to assume that they would try to choose a more suitable partner in a second marriage. But unfortunately, people are creatures of habit and they still have a tendency to attract the same personality type again and again.

A lot has been written about the subject of cohabitation and whether it is a good idea to "try on" a partner before marriage. With so many couples getting divorced, even the most values-oriented demographic groups are starting to embrace the idea of living together. But is it wise to cohabitate when one or both partners have children? This was the topic of a Washington Post Q & A in the "On Love" section of their website, where readers are invited to weigh in by asking questions to an expert moderator.

Some say that our collective obsession with social media will die down, that it's not really sustainable in a society where technology is rapidly advancing. Like always, something new will soon replace social media and become the "next big thing." Others claim that Facebook and Twitter are just passing fads that will eventually die when users stop contributing meaningful content. As someone who watches the trends in social media with a skeptical eye, I have noticed a slight "dumbing down" of popular sites like Facebook, but despite the fact that less than 10 percent of my "friends" post on a regular basis, I still find myself logging in several times a day.

If there was ever a “subtle art” that requires extreme sensitivity, it would have to be step-parenting.  Just ask any stepchild how they feel about having a stepparent in their lives and they will not hesitate to tell say how they really feel.  Teenagers are particularly vocal about stepparents, who they see as an unnatural intrusion into their family life.

Anyone who has ever considered adoption has wondered about the problems that might come up.  Will the child eventually want to meet his or her birth parents?  Will they feel as close you when they grow up as they did when they were children?  How will it affect them when they realize they cannot inherit your personality, facial features or good health?  Truth is, most adopted kids are just as close to their parents as biological children.  Apparently “nurture” is just as influential as “nature,” but that doesn’t mean the child won’t have leftover issues from their previous living situation.