Dealing with matters pertaining to your family, assets and property is stressful and worrisome. Regardless of whether you think issues will be disputed or agreed upon, having a compassionate attorney who can explain the process and advocate for you is important.
Whether you are the person seeking the divorce, parenting time, child support or maintenance, or are the person responding to these actions, we understand that when it comes to your family and children, the idea of change and the unknown can be overwhelming. The attorneys at Dahl, Fischer, and Wilks have extensive litigation and negotiation experience. We can assist you from the beginning, initiating proceedings or responding to initial pleadings. If you did not have the benefit of legal representation initially, we can also help you modify orders previously entered by the court or respond to a request from the other party seeking to modify prior orders.
Our family and domestic law services include:
- Divorce or Dissolution of Marriage
- Child Custody (Parenting Time)
- Child Support
- Spousal Maintenance (Alimony)
- Protection Orders
Separating or ending a marriage is stressful, emotional, and weighs heavily on your mind. In addition to personal feelings about going through a divorce, people have to deal with legal and other practical issues at the same time. Our lawyers will lead you through the challenges of establishing a parenting time schedule and of separating finances, property, and possessions.
We work towards settlement of all the issues, saving you the stress of litigation and the associated legal fees. If we are unable to reach a settlement, we will fight for the best result for you. We want you to be able to move forward with the financial support and property you need and deserve. We also want your children’s lives to remain as stable as possible in the face of change.
Parents love their children and want the very best for them. As a parent, you will likely experience a variety of emotions, fear, uncertainty and perhaps even anger. Adjusting to two households will be an adjustment for everyone. Our goal is to establish an arrangement that minimizes disruption and offers stability.
If court orders have previously entered and circumstances have changed, it is never too late to get those orders changed. Over time, situations change and what is best for your children may change.
In Colorado, child support orders are based on the parents’ income, the amount of time the child is spending with each parent, health insurance, child care costs and other special needs the child may have. Child support must be paid for the benefit of the child until the child reaches 19 years of age or is emancipated. The amount of child support to be paid is based on a mathematical calculation.
Whether you are the parent paying or receiving child support, if circumstances change, such as income or parenting time being exercised, a child support modification may be appropriate. If a parent is not meeting his or her child support obligations, it may be appropriate to bring the non-payment issue to the court’s attention.
Maintenance is also known as alimony. A maintenance order may be entered because of a disparity in income between yourself and your spouse or because one spouse is not employed due to illness, loss of job or by the choice of being a homemaker. Like child support, the law provides a mathematical calculation to determine the amount of maintenance to be paid and the length of time for which maintenance must be paid. The length of time for which maintenance must be paid is based on the length of the marriage. The parties may agree that maintenance will not be paid even if the calculation suggests it should be paid.
There may be times in a relationship where one party feels the need to seek protection against the other party out of concern for his or her safety or the family’s safety. Our attorneys can obtain or defend against a protection order. We advocate for our clients to ensure their safety by pursuing a protection order in the appropriate circumstances or defending against an improper protection order. Whether you are the party seeking a protection order or the party defending against the issuance of a protection order, having legal representation is important.
