Graham.Law Blog

In 1992’s Scent of a Woman, Al Pacino’s character, Lt. Col. Frank Slade, gives a perfect example of direct contempt of court. (The Academy liked the performance as well, awarding Pacino the Best Actor award). As his helpless attorney looks on, Col. Slade’s diatribe to the school disciplinary court included: “Out…

Would You Hire Harvey Specter to Handle Your Divorce? Confession time – my wife made me watch last year’s royal wedding (Meghan Markle & Prince Harry), and I was curious enough about the Duchess of Sussex to join my wife in binge-watching Suits from the very beginning on Amazon Prime. For those…

When Does Child Support End in Colorado? Does child support stop at 18? No. One of the biggest myths in (Colorado) family law is that child support ends when a child turns 18. After all, at 18 one is legally an adult –  Junior is old enough to vote, work, join…

Can You Marry Your First Cousin in Colorado? Yes. Colorado law permits first cousins to marry without restriction. Someone called our office last week with a simple question about whether it was permissible to marry a cousin. While we unfortunately are not able to give out legal advice over the…

In a groundbreaking new decision, the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled for the first time that a non-parent can be ordered to pay child support to the child’s biological parent. A.C.H. In short, the court held that a person who seeks court-ordered parental rights should also be required to pay…

Lottery and Divorce – Impact on Alimony & Child Support Exhibit one in for lottery and divorce issues. The Huffington Post has an article this week entitled Woman Asks Ex Who Won Mega Millions Lottery: Can I Stop Paying Alimony? During the marriage, the wife had been the primary breadwinner, and was ordered to…

Cohabitation vs Marriage – When Does a Girl/Boyfriend Become a Common Law Partner? Are we married, or just living together? Cohabitation vs marriage questions are among the most common in states like Colorado which recognize common law marriage. And there is a misconception that if a couple lives together in a…

Pet custody has been in the press again recently. In January, a new law took effect in California which empowers judges to award or joint custody over a pet, taking into consideration the care of the pet. This isn’t just the “left coast” being creative with pet custody agreements – California was actually third…

Stop Alimony After Retirement? Colorado law provides that a retirement after reaching the social security retirement age (which is currently 67 for those born in 1960 or later) creates a “rebuttable presumption” that the retirement is in good faith. (2)(b). While this presumption definitely favors the payor, that is not the same as stopping…

Social Security and Divorce. There are multiple facets to this issue, and last week, we added an article to the Colorado Family Law Guide explaining how Social Security may be treated as income at divorce for the purposes of calculating alimony and child support. We also wrote a blog post on the issue of…