Divorce and Legal Separation

The end of a marriage implicates every aspect of your life.  Not only will you be dealing with the emotional impact of the loss of your marriage, you will, at the same time, be required to think clearly and logically in order to address those aspects of divorce that apply to you, which may include creating a plan to coparent your children (allocation of parental responsibilities), determining how to fairly divide your marital property (division of property), and determining what type of financial support will need to be paid for your or your spouse’s benefit (spousal maintenance) and for your children’s benefit (child support).

To say that divorce is a death is not an exaggeration.  The goal of divorce is to sever as many ties (physical, financial, emotional) as possible with the one you once loved and who you had previously committed your life to.  By doing so, you are saying goodbye to those hopes and dreams you had of living a long life of mutual love and support, of raising children to become successful adults, of seeing those children begin families of their own, of growing old together, and of looking back on the difficult years that make up a marriage with satisfaction, pride, and perhaps renewed love.  The loss of these hopes and dreams inevitably leads to grief, which may well be your constant companion as you move through one of the biggest, most impactful events of your life.

While you are dealing with the emotional fallout of the end of your marriage, you may also be required to make decisions that will impact the health and well-being of your children, to include a schedule of how frequently you will get to see your children now and into the future (parenting time), and how important decisions on issues affecting your children’s lives will be made (decision-making).

Even further, you will be making decisions that impact how those assets you have worked a lifetime to acquire, hold, and grow – your house, your business, your investments, your retirement – will be divided, and you will be and attempting to determine the appropriate amount of financial support for your spouse and possibly your children.

Moving through the process of allocating parental responsibilities, dividing marital property, and determining spousal maintenance and child support while in the fog of divorce is a difficult task. Yet, you must make a thoughtful determination of what is important to you, you must consider your options on how to achieve your goals, you must be able to consider the implications of each of those options, and you must be able to create and implement a plan to achieve your well-thought-out goals. Only then will you be able to navigate the divorce process effectively and in a way that serves your best interests and your children’s best interests.

The process of ending your marriage is difficult, nuanced, and has long term implications, which can be overwhelming.  Add to this overwhelm the feelings of sadness, anger, fear, betrayal, and an array of other difficult emotions that may be experienced when confronted with losing what you have invested so much time, love, and effort into.  It should be no surprise that divorce causes feelings of fear, frustration, and uncertainty throughout the process.  This is why it is in your best interests to find an attorney who knows the divorce process, has experience navigating the constantly changing dynamics within that divorce process, and has the emotional intelligence to help you through this process while honoring your experience as a human going through a traumatic life event.

At McGuire Law, we are fortunate to have attorney Nathan M.J. Dowell, who has practiced family law in Colorado for 25+ years, as the firm’s family law attorney.   Nathan’s paralegal, Karen Yurack, has been a family law paralegal for 18+ years.  Nathan and Karen have worked as a team for over ten years, during which time they have assisted innumerable clients as they navigate the emotional and ever-changing process of divorce and legal separation.  Nathan and Karen take great pride in their ability to work as a team to assist their clients in piecing together a new game plan for their post-divorce lives, with each bringing something different to the table.  Nathan’s attention to detail and ability to translate the law and Karen’s down to earth, nurturing demeanor blend well to provide a strong, supportive foundation clients can depend on during this process.