Denver Legal Blog

If you are entering your first, post-divorce holiday season, you may be feeling a bit anxious about how it's all going to work. Even though you feel fairly confident about your co-parenting plan, you know that your kids are used to the family holiday traditions you've always had and that things will be quite different this year. Your divorce doesn't necessarily have to mean the end of your holiday fun.

There are several key factors to keep in mind that can help you and your co-parent avoid the stressful, emotionally charged, highly contentious holiday disasters that some former couples wind up facing. To start, it always helps to remember that your children's well-being is the central focus. From there, you can lay some ground rules and be proactive to help your children adapt to their new holiday routine.

The issues between two Colorado parents can continue long after a divorce is final. In fact, the difficult feelings and emotions can cause problems that may require one parent to seek legal recourse to resolve ongoing issues. One problem that you may need help resolving is parenting time interference.

When your child's other parent does not want to cooperate with the terms of a custody or visitation order, it is more than just an inconvenience. It is a direct threat to your parental rights, as well as a threat to the well-being of your child. If you are dealing with parenting time interference, you have the right to take action to shield your interests and your kids.

Divorce is never easy, and you may have more than your share of challenges in store, depending on your particular situation. If you have children, there might be disagreements about custody or visitation. If you're a business owner, protecting your interests will likely be a high priority when property division proceedings begin. Hopefully, you will be able to negotiate a fair and agreeable settlement that allows you to move forward toward a new, successful lifestyle.

That's often easier said than done, however, especially if you suspect that your spouse is trying to hide assets so that he or she won't be subject to division. If you're like many other spouses in Colorado, you've probably learned to trust your instincts when it comes to feeling like something is not right in your relationship. If your spouse is showing signs of suspicious behavior, you may want to further investigate the matter before heading to court.

You are fortunate if your court-ordered child custody arrangement is working with few glitches. Maybe this is because you and your ex-spouse were able to come to an agreement on your own or through mediation. Holidays may have been difficult at first, and you may have found it upsetting to spend the time away from your children. However, the schedule is as fair as possible under the circumstances.

The next big hurdle is summer. Everything changes when the kids are out of school, and you may already be discovering that following a rigid schedule is going to be difficult. You may be tempted to toss out the custody agreement, but experts say this is not a good idea.