You can file in Colorado if:

1. You or your partner have lived in Colorado for at least 91 days before filing.  Or,
2. You originally obtained the Civil Union in Colorado.

Note on Children

1. Please note your children must have lived in Colorado for at least 182 days (or since birth) immediately prior to filing. 
2. Otherwise, the Court may not be able to enter orders for child support or a parenting plan.

Note on Commonlaw Marriage

1. If you are trying to end a common law marriage, do not use these forms.
2. You will need to use the divorce forms and instructions.

File in the District Court:

1. Where you or your partner lives. Or,
2. In the County that issued your Civil Union.

Decide if you will file with your partner

1. Jointly – You and your partner file the case together.
2. Separetly – You file the case by yourself and then formally notify your partner.

You will be known as the Petitioner and your partner will be known as the Respondent.

Step 1 –  Paperwork.

1. JDF 1000 – Case Information Sheet,
2. JDF 1250 – Petition, and
3. JDF 1251 – Summons (skip this form if filing jointly).

For detailed instructions on how to complete these forms, review JDF 1267 – How to Guide to Civil Union Divorce.

Step 2 – File with the Court

1. File Forms Online or with the clerk's office in-person or by mail.
2. Pay or waive the filing fee.

Step 3 – Formal Notification

1. Skip this step if you are filing jointly.
2. After you file your forms with the court, you must arrange to deliver the Petition, Summons, and any other paperwork issued by the Court.
3. The process of having these forms delivered to your partner is known as personal service.
4. The clerk will provide you with a signed copy of JDF 1251 – Summons.
5. Refer to the step-by-step instructions on how to arrange for personal service on your partner.
6. After service is made, file the proof of service into your case.

Skip this step if you filed Jointly.

• The Respondent files JDF 1252 – Response.
• File Forms Online or with the clerk's office in-person or by mail.
• Pay or waive the filing fee.

Step 1 – Read Case Managment Order

1. After you file your case, the clerk will likely give you a Case Management Order.
2. This document contains information about your case such as the date of your Initial Status Conference and requirements for filling out additional forms.
3. Mark the Initial Status Conference date on your calendar.

Step 2 – Pre-Conferemce Forms

1. JDF 1111 – Sworn Financial Statement
2. JDF 1104 – Certificate of Compliance
3. JDF 1115 – Property and Financial Agreement
4. JDF 1113 – Parenting Plan (skip if you don't have children)
5. JDF 1257 – Decree
6. JDF 1117 – Support Order
7. JDF 1129 – Pre-Trial Statement

If you need to calculate child support or maintenance, use the child support/maintenance calculator.

Step 3 – Schedule Conference

1. The Case Management Order may give a conference date, or instruction on how to schedule that meeting.
2. Otherwise see JDF 1122 on how to schedule.

Step 4 - Attend Conference

1. Give your partner notice of the Initial Status Conference at least 14 days before the date of the Initial Status Conference.
2. By law, the Initial Status Conference must happen within 42 days of the filing of your case.
3. Bring the forms required by your Case Management Order with you to the Initial Status Conference.
4. You will most likely meet with a Family Court Facilitator. The Family Court Facilitator will help you understand process and answer your questions. They will also give you instructions about the next steps in your case, but cannot give you legal advice.

NOTE: Before trying to enforce a child support order on your own, you may want to first contact your local child support enforcement office for help.

STEP 1- Decide which enforcement option you want to use. If your former partner is not paying the child support or maintenance (alimony) that he/she was ordered to pay, there are three options:

* Option 1: Income Assignment - An "income assignment" allows your former partner's employer to take the money owed to you out of his/her paycheck, and pay it to you directly or through the Family Support Registry See STEP 1A.

STEP 1A (Income Assignment) - See §14-14-111.5, C.R.S. for more information.

* Option 2: Get a Judgment against your former partner - You can ask the court for a money "Judgment" against your former partner. Once the court turns the order to pay into a "judgment", you can take steps to enforce the judgment. See STEP 1B.

STEP 1B (Get a Judgment against your former partner) - fill out JDF 1813 Verified Entry of Support Judgment.

* Review JDF 1800 Instructions for Filing Motions to Enforce Orders for detailed instructions on how to fill out this form. Here are some helpful tips for filing out this form:

(a) You will use the original dissolution of civil union or custody case number as the case number for this form.

(b) You and your former partner will have the same "identities" to the court as you did in the original case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" on this form.

(c) You may give your forms to the court in person or by mailing them.

(d) There is no filing fee.

* Fill out JDF 1813 Verified Entry of Support Judgment and make a copy. You must sign this form in front of a notary public or court clerk. Mail or hand-deliver a copy to your former partner. After you mail or hand-deliver the form to your former partner, fill out the "Certificate of Service" part of JDF 1813 Verified Entry of Support Judgment and then file a copy with the court.

* If the court turns the order into a Judgment (enters the judgment), you will need to ask the court for a document called a "Transcript of Judgment".

* Take the Transcript of Judgment to the Clerk and Recorder's Office in any county where your former partner lives or where they own property and get the document "recorded" (put on file). When the Transcript of Judgment document is recorded, it will put a "lien" on your former partner's property equal to the amount of money that you are owed (the amount of the Judgment).

* If the court turns the order into a "Judgment", you can also "garnish" your former partner's wages. Refer to JDF 82 Instructions on How to Collect a Judgment and Completing a Writ of Garnishment for information on how to do a "garnishment"

* Option 3: Contempt of Court - You can ask the court to find (determine) that your former partner is in "contempt of court" for not obeying the court order. Your former partner can be punished with fines or even jail for continuing to disobey the order to pay. See STEP 1C.

STEP 1C (Contempt of Court) - fill out JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause.

* Refer to JDF 1800 Instructions for Filing Motions to Enforce Orders for detailed instructions on how to fill out these forms.  Here are some helpful tips for filing out these forms:

(a) You will use the original dissolution of civil union or custody case number as the case number for these forms.

(b) You and your former partner will have the same "identities" to the court as you did in the original case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" on these forms.

(c) You may give your forms to the court in person or by mailing them.

(d) There is no filing fee.

* Fill out JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and make a copy. You must sign this form in front of a notary public or court clerk.

* Fill out only the top ("caption") portion of JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause.

* File the original of JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause with the court.

* The court will contact you to set a date for a hearing or the court will send you JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause with the court with a hearing date and time on the form.

* You will need to arrange for personal service of JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause on your former partner.  Refer to the step-by-step instructions on how to arrange for personal service and how to return proof of service to the court.

STEP 1- Decide which enforcement option you want to use. If your former partner is not obeying the court order for parenting time, there are two options:

* Option 1: File a "Motion" with the court to enforce the parenting time order. See STEP 1A.

STEP 1A (File a Motion with the Court) - Fill out JDF 1418 Verified Motion Concerning Parenting Time Disputes and JDF 1419 Order re: Parenting Time.

* Review JDF 1418I Instructions to File a Motion Concerning Parenting Time Disputes for detailed instructions on how to fill out these forms. Here are some helpful tips for filing out the forms:

(a) You will use the case number from the original dissolution of civil union or custody case as the case number for these forms.

(b) You and your former partner will have the same "identities" to the court as you did in the original case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" on these forms.

(c) You may give your forms to the court in person or by mailing them.

(d) There is no filing fee.

* Fill out JDF 1418 Verified Motion Concerning Parenting Time Disputes and make a copy. You must sign this form in front of a notary public or court clerk. Mail or hand-deliver a copy to your former partner. After you mail or hand-deliver a copy of JDF 1418 Verified Motion Concerning Parenting Time Disputes to your former partner, fill out the "Certificate of Service" part of the form and then file a copy with the court.

* Fill out only the top ("Caption") portion of JDF 1419 Order re: Parenting Time. The court will fill out the rest of this form. You DO NOT need to mail or hand-deliver a copy of JDF 1419 Order re: Parenting Time to your former partner. File JDF 1419 with the court along with JDF 1418 Verified Motion Concerning Parenting Time Disputes.

* After you have filed JDF 1418 Verified Motion Concerning Parenting Time Disputes and JDF 1419  Order re: Parenting Time with the court, wait for a response from the court.

* Option 2: Contempt of Court - You can ask the court to find (decide) that your former partner is in "contempt of court" for not obeying the court order on parenting time. Your former partner can be punished with fines or even jail for continuing to disobey the order. See STEP 1B.

STEP 1B (Contempt of Court) - fill out JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause.

* Review JDF 1800  Instructions for Filing Motions to Enforce Orders for detailed instructions on how to fill out these forms. Here are some helpful tips for filing out these forms:

(a) You will use the original dissolution of civil union or custody case number as the case number for these forms.

(b) You and your former partner will have the same "identities" to the court as you did in the original case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" on these forms.

(c) You may give your forms to the court in person or by mailing them.

(d) There is no filing fee.

* Fill out JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and make a copy. You must sign this form in front of a notary public or court clerk.

* Fill out only the top ("caption") portion of JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause.

* File the original of JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause with the court.

* The court will contact you to set a date for a hearing or the court will send you JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause with a hearing date and time on the form.

* You will need to arrange for personal service of JDF 1816 Verified Motion & Affidavit for Citation for Contempt of Court and JDF 1817 Order to Issue Citation & Citation to Show Cause on your former partner. Refer to the step-by-step instructions on how to arrange for personal service and how to return proof of service to the court.

STEP 1 - Fill out Form JDF 1814 Motion for Clerk of Court to Transfer Title Per C.R.C.P. 70 and JDF 1815 Order for Clerk of Court to Transfer Title Per C.R.C.P. 70 If the court ordered that you have the right to ownership of certain property (for example a house or car) but your former partner refuses to sign the property over to you.

* Review JDF 1800 Instructions for Filing Motions to Enforce Orders for detailed instructions on how to fill out these forms. Here are some helpful tips for filing out the forms:

(a) Use the case number from your original dissolution of civil union case as the case number for these forms.

(b) You and your former partner will have the same "identities" to the court as you did in the original case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" on these forms.

(c) There is no filing fee.

* Fill out JDF 1814 Motion for Clerk of Court to Transfer Title Per C.R.C.P. 70 and make a copy. You must sign this form in front of a notary public or court clerk. You will need to mail or hand-deliver a copy of JDF 1814 Motion for Clerk of Court to Transfer Title Per C.R.C.P. 70 to your former partner. After you mail or hand-deliver a copy of JDF 1814 Motion for Clerk of Court to Transfer Title Per C.R.C.P. 70 to your former partner, fill out the "Certificate of Service" part of the form and then file it with the court.

* Fill out only the top ("Caption") portion of JDF 1815 Order for Clerk of Court to Transfer Title Per C.R.C.P. 70.  The court will fill out the rest of this form. You DO NOT need to mail or hand-deliver a copy of JDF 1815 Order for Clerk of Court to Transfer Title Per C.R.C.P. 70 to your former partner.

STEP 2 - File your completed forms with the court.

* You will file your completed forms with the same court that gave you the original order related to the property.

* NOTE: You must file the original paper versions of your completed forms by giving them to the court in person or by mailing them to the court.

STEP 3 - Wait for the court to respond to your Motion.

You must wait at least 182 days from the date your legal separation was finalized by the court (when the Decree of Legal Separation was entered) before you can file paperwork to change the legal separation to a dissolution of civil union.

You should file your paperwork with the same court that finalized your legal separation.

You and your partner will have the same "identities" to the court as you did in the original legal separation case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" when you complete these forms.

* Download and complete:
* JDF 1259 Motion to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union,
* JDF 1260 Order to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union, and
* JDF 1257 Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union or Legal Separation of Civil Union

* For detailed instructions on how to fill out these forms, review JDF 1272 Instructions to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union.

* You will sign your completed JDF1259 Motion to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union. Your partner DOES NOT need to sign the form.

* Fill out only the top ("caption") portion of JDF 1260 Order to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union and the court will fill out the rest. You DO NOT need to sign this form.

* Fill out the top ("caption") portion of JDF 1257 Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union or Legal Separation of Civil Union and check the "Dissolution of Civil Union" box. The court will fill in the rest of this form. You DO NOT need to sign this form.

* You will need to mail or hand-deliver a copy of JDF 1259 Motion to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union to your partner. After you mail or hand-deliver JDF 1259 to your partner, complete the "Certificate of Service" part of the form and then file ALL of your forms (JDF 1259 Motion to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union, JDF 1260 Order to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union, and JDF 1257 Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union or Legal Separation of Civil Union) with the court.

* Take your completed forms (JDF 1259 Motion to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union, JDF 1260 Order to Convert Decree of Legal Separation of Civil Union to Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union, and JDF 1257 Decree of Dissolution of Civil Union or Legal Separation of Civil Union) to the clerk at the courthouse.

* The court will ask you to pay a filing fee. If you do not think you can afford the filing fee, go to the instructions and fill out form JDF 205 Motion to File Without Payment and Supporting Financial Affidavit and the caption box of JDF 206 Finding and Order Concerning Payment of Fees to request a waiver of the filing fee.

* If you dissolved your civil union (or you and your same-sex partner were married) in another state and you move to Colorado, you can register your dissolution of civil union (or divorce) paperwork in Colorado. Once you register your dissolution of civil union (or divorce) paperwork in Colorado, you can ask a court in Colorado to enforce any orders having to do with the case from the other state.

* Before you ask a Colorado court to register your out-of-state case, you will need to get exemplified copies of all written paperwork from the out of state case including court orders, judgments and decrees.

* NOTE: DO NOT use this process for problems related to children such as registering an out-of-state child-custody or child-support order. Refer to the information on registering an out-of-state child-custody order.

* You should file your case with the district court in the county where you live or where your partner lives.  To find your district court, click on Courts by County.

* You and your partner can file your case together, or you can file the case on your own.

* You decide if you want to file together or file on your own. The court cannot make this decision for you.

You and your partner will have the same "identities" as you did in the original out-of-state case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" when you file these forms.

STEP 1- Download and complete your forms.

* Download and complete these forms:
* JDF 1000 Case Information Sheet, and
* JDF 1221 Petition to Register Foreign Decree

For detailed instructions on how to complete these forms, review JDF 1220 Instructions to File a Foreign Decree.

STEP 2- File your Forms with the Court.

* Take your completed forms to the clerk at the counter in the courthouse. Give the forms to the clerk to file your case. Either you OR your partner can drop off the forms at the court, and it is not necessary that you both go together.

* Remember to give the exemplified copies of the paperwork from the out-of-state case to the clerk along with your completed forms.

* The court will ask you to pay a filing fee. If you do not think you can afford the filing fee, go to the instructions and fill out form JDF 205 Motion to File Without Payment and Supporting Financial Affidavit and the caption box of JDF 206 Finding and Order Concerning Payment of Fees to request a waiver of the filing fee.

* The clerk might ask you to complete additional forms. Please follow the clerk's instructions.

You and your partner will have the same "identities" as you did in the original out-of-state case. For example, if you were the "Petitioner" in the original case, you will be the "Petitioner" when you file these forms.

STEP 1- Download and Complete your Forms.

* Download and complete:
* JDF 1000 Case Information Sheet,
* JDF 1221 Petition to Register Foreign Decree, and
* JDF 1222 Summons for Registration of Foreign Decree.

For detailed instructions on how to complete these forms, review JDF 1220 Instructions to File a Foreign Decree.

STEP 2- File your forms with the court.

* Take your completed forms to the clerk at the counter in the courthouse. Give the forms to the clerk to file your case.

* Remember to give the exemplified copies of the paperwork from the out-of-state case to the clerk along with your completed forms.

* The court will ask you to pay a filing fee. If you do not think you can afford the filing fee, go to the instructions and fill out form JDF 205 Motion to File Without Payment and Supporting Financial Affidavit and the caption box of JDF 206 Finding and Order Concerning Payment of Fees to request a waiver of the filing fee.

* The clerk might ask you to complete additional forms. Please follow the clerk's instructions.

STEP 3- Arrange to serve your partner.

* After you file your forms with the court, you must arrange to have JDF 1221 Petition to Register Foreign Decree and JDF 1222 Summons for Registration of Foreign Decree delivered to your partner. The process of arranging to have these forms delivered to your partner is known as personal service.

* The clerk will provide you with a signed copy of JDF 1222 Summons for Registration of Foreign Decree to be served on your partner.

* Refer to the step-by-step instructions on how to arrange for personal service on your partner and how to return proof of service to the court.

* If you are dissolving your civil union, and you want to change your name back to your maiden name, make sure to let the court know by filling out question #20 on JDF 1250 Petition for Dissolution of Civil Union or Legal Separation.

* If you do not change your name back to your maiden name as part of the dissolution of civil union process, it will be much more difficult to make the change later as you will be required to go through a separate name change process.