At the Raykin Law Firm in Littleton, one of my specialties is family law, which covers many matters, including:
- Marriage and divorce: this covers prenuptial agreements, which are growing increasingly popular; common-law marriage, which is not nearly as common and easily established as many people think; and divorce. Unfortunately, divorces have become very common in America, and Littleton certainly is no exception to this. Divorces also are complicated and emotionally costly, so a lawyer frequently is needed to assist people throughout the process.
- Maintenance and support (which used to be known as alimony): Colorado has developed guidelines for spousal support, depending on whether the combined income of both couples is more or less than $75,000 per year. If combined income is above that figure, then figuring support grows more complicated. In Littleton, where there is a large middle-class and upper middle-class population, combined income often is above $75,000 per year.
- Visitation/Parental rights and responsibilities (which used to be known as custody): because children are the focus of any marriage and the focus of people’s lives in general, people generally fight very hard to see them as much as possible after a marriage has fallen apart. Barring extreme circumstances, both parents will keep visitation rights after a divorce.
- Child support: it is absolutely critical to ensure that children are well taken care of after the collapse of a marriage. Courts will go out of their way to ensure this happens, and penalties for “deadbeat” parents are growing more severe.
- Changes to spousal maintenance and support, parental rights and responsibilities, visitation rights and child support: people often will seed to change existing agreements due to a change in circumstances, such as a job loss or new job, growing needs for a child, a move, etc.
- Alternative dispute resolution and mediation: instead of going to court – which can become a very long and expensive process – folks in Littleton and all over Colorado often choose to solve post-marital disputes through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and mediation. I frequently recommend these options because I know how devastating going to court can be.