A plain-English field guide for Longmont families
What is happening in your family right now?
Pick the door that fits. Each one goes straight to clear answers drawn from Colorado's own court resources, with a Longmont lawyer a phone call away.
In danger right now? Call 911.
Just served?
You have a deadline. Here it is.
Source: Colorado Judicial Branch, JDF 1012 Summons. Count from the day you were served, and confirm the date with a lawyer.
Do these five things this week
- Write down the date and how you were served. Keep every page you received.
- Read the automatic court orders on the summons and follow them. Do not move money, take the children out of Colorado, or change insurance without permission or a court order.
- Do not ignore it. If you do not respond, the court may decide the case without your input.
- Prepare your response. The court's form is JDF 1015, Response to the Petition, filed online or at the courthouse with a fee or a fee waiver request.
- Talk to a lawyer before you file anything or sign an agreement.
Which court?
Longmont sits in two counties
You file in the county where you or your spouse lives. Longmont addresses can fall in Boulder County or Weld County. Your street address decides.
Addresses and phone numbers from the Colorado Judicial Branch court pages linked on each card. Filing rule: Divorce or Legal Separation.
Words you will hear
The family court glossary
- Allocation of parental responsibilities
- Colorado's term for what many states call custody. It covers parenting time and decision-making for a child.
- Automatic temporary injunction
- Automatic court orders in a divorce or legal separation case. Among other things, they bar hiding or disposing of marital property, taking the children out of Colorado without permission, and changing family insurance. They are listed on the summons. Source
- Best interests of the child
- The standard Colorado courts use for parenting decisions. The child's safety is always paramount. Source
- Colorado Child & Family Investigator
- A person the court may appoint under section 14-10-116.5, C.R.S., to investigate parenting issues and report recommendations to the court. Source
- Co-petitioner
- A spouse who files a divorce jointly with the other spouse instead of being served. Source
- Decision-making responsibility
- The authority to make major decisions for a child, such as education and health care, held jointly or by one parent.
- Decree
- The court's final order that ends the marriage, or legally separates the spouses, and sets the terms. Source
- Family Support Registry (FSR)
- The state system that processes support payments when the court orders payment through it. Source
- Initial Status Conference
- An early court meeting in a divorce case where the next steps and deadlines are explained. Source
Official resources
Go straight to the source
Your lawyer, start to finish
Attorney Charles E. Liken Jr.
When a guide is not enough, you talk to the lawyer, not a call center. Attorney Liken has worked family cases as an investigator, a prosecutor, a court-appointed Colorado Child & Family Investigator and a private attorney.
- Former Colorado Deputy District Attorney
- Colorado court-appointed Child & Family Investigator
- 700+ government fraud investigations
- 30+ years in the legal field
- Licensed in Colorado
Talk it through
Get a straight answer about your situation
Twenty minutes, no charge, no obligation. Attorney Liken calls you at the time you choose.
Office telephone 303-406-2791
Office fax number 720-713-7147
Email charles@longmont.law
Office mailing address
The Longmont Law Firm, LLC
1601 29th St. Suite 1292
Boulder, CO 80301
Please do not send confidential details by email before we speak. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.