After the Settlement

Great news -- you've come to a deal in your family law case! You signed the documents; they've been approved by the Court; and your attorney sent you your final invoice. Freedom!

Now what?

When a family law case ends it can often feel like when you finally graduate from school. Every day for a while you walk around in a fog thinking you have forgotten something. Here's a checklist that might help.

Have you received your Decree yet?

The final Order you will receive from the Court in a family law case will be a Decree of Dissolution or a Decree of Legal Separation. In an allocation of parental responsibilities case, you will receive an Order of Allocation of Parental Responsibilities. If you receive this from your attorney or the Court, this signifies the closing of the case. Be sure that you have Orders approving any agreements you have come to (Separation Agreement, Parenting Plan or other Stipulation).

What deadlines do you have for real property?

Likely your agreement will have one party keeping the house or putting the house on the market. Be sure to make note of any important deadlines that accompany this. Some examples are deadlines for the drafting, signing and filing with the county of a Quit Claim Deed; disbursement of funds from a sale; refinancing a mortgage in one party's name; and/or reimbursement of costs or repairs during a sale.

Was there an agreement about a lump sum payment?

Sometimes parties will agree to lessen a maintenance obligation (either by number of years or amount of payment) by offering a lump sum payment up front. Usually there is a deadline for this payment of thirty, sixty, ninety days or more. This may be triggered by an event such as sale of a house or completion of a transfer process.

Are there any transfers of ownership that need to be finalized?

If there are assets or debts that one party is taking ownership of or responsibility for, there is often a requirement in the agreement to have this completed within a certain time period. This may be reallocating an asset or debt from joint to individual or transferring assets or debts from one party to another. This could be transferring title on vehicle(s), bank account(s), credit card(s), investment account(s), business interests or even personal property such as firearms.

Do you have to set up any accounts with the Family Support Registry?

The Family Support Registry is more or less a clearing house for support payments. Some parties will opt for these services in order to have an accounting for support payments. The FSR and their functionality can be a blog post in and of itself, but for these purposes, make sure that if you plan to use the FSR to keep track of and distribute these payments that you set up an account with them. The Court nor your attorney will do this for you. Often times the Court can issue an FSR account number as part of the granting of a Support Order. Be sure to get this account number from the Court or your attorney if you don't receive one.

Do you need a QDRO or DRO?

A QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) or DRO (Domestic Relations Order) are often required to distribute funds from certain retirement accounts. If you need one of these, you likely have a timeframe in which to have one drafted. This is an intricate process that often requires an expert to draft and there are only a handful of folks in Colorado that are qualified to do such. Once it is drafted, it has to pass through the Plan Administrator of the Plan for approval and then filed with the Court. Once the Court signs off on the Order, a certified copy needs to be mailed to the Plan to start the process. Because of the number of steps required and the limitation of professionals to assist you, it is best to start this process as soon as you are able.

What about health insurance?

If you are going through a divorce (some legal separations are able to maintain health insurance for the other party upon agreement), it is likely that you will have to be removed from the other party's health insurance. Make sure that you complete all the necessary steps to make sure you are insured.