This four-page form, which must be signed in the presence of the Court Clerk or a Notary Public, may be filed jointly by both spouses or individually by the spouse who is tNe Petitioner. It provides basic information of the husband and wife and minor children, if there are any. If there are children, it stipulates whether or not they are involved in any custody actions in Colorado or courts in other jurisdictions. If a party requests the restoration of a name, that fact is so indicated in the petition.

This two-page form provides basic information about the parties and their children, particularly the legal representation of the parties and any other "relevant" pending litigation they may be involved in.

The Summons, which is used only when the couple do not file for dissolution jointly, puts the Respondent on notice that he or she has 20 days to file an answer if he or she lives in Colorado, or that the case "may be decided by default." For those living outside of Colorado, the deadline is 30 days, and for those who are served by publication (see below) the deadline is 90 days. Couples filing jointly need not serve a Summons; they are both parties to the action.

When the Respondent signs the original Waiver and Acceptance of Service, which is on the back of the Summons, he or she agrees to waive formal service of process. This is the easiest form of service, and it moves the divorce along. Signing does not mean he or she admits the truth of the allegations; it only means he or she waives formal service. The form must be signed before the Court Clerk or a Notary Public. The Return of Service form is used when a third-party -- a Process Server or Sheriff -- formally serves the Respondent the divorce papers. He or she signs it and returns it to the Respondent, and it becomes part of the record.

This forms must be filed when the Respondent cannot or will be found to accept service of process. The Petitioner's Verified Motion, which must be notarized, establishes the "diligent" effort made by the Petitioner to locate the missing spouse. The Order for Publication is a court order that permits the Petitioner to "complete service by publication in a newspaper." This permits the Petitioner to publish notice in a county newspaper once a week fop five consecutive weeks as well as post a notice of the action on the court bulletin board.

A Respondent who wishes to agree or disagree in part of in whole with the allegations in the Petition may file this form as a response. He or she may allege that the marriage is not "irretrievably broken," and ask the court to enter orders about the allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, maintenance and the division of assets and debts. Filing it requires payment of a fee, and he or she must complete a Certificate of Service stating that a copy of the Response was returned to the other party.

This notice gives the other party notice of a Domestic Relations Initial Status Conference, which is required in most counties if a domestic relations conference of the parties is held. The conference is a preliminary to moving the action along.

After the action has begun, the Petitioner sometimes needs to ask the court for Temporary Orders. These orders may deal with temporary custody and/or visitation and child support or the servicing of debt or the payment of temporary spousal support. The Temporary Orders form is used to expedite any stipulation in the Temporary Orders Agreement.

Both the husband and the wife must complete this detailed, six-page form, which must be notarized and each must exchange his or her Sworn Financial Statement with the other. The purpose of this statement is "to determine whether the Separation Agreement is fair to each party." This statement must be filed with 40 days of service to the Respondent or 40 days after filing jointly.

This form identifies all the documents that each party must provide the other 40 days after the service of the Petition. This document does not need to be filed with the court unless ordered by the court except for the Sworn Financial Statement and Child Support Worksheets. These disclosure include the Sworn Financial Statement as well as the three most recent years of income tax returns, personal and business financial statements, real estate documents, personal debts, investments, employee benefits, retirement plans, bank/financial institution accounts, income documentation, child care documentation and extraordinary child care expense documentation.

Each spouse is required to file a Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Financial Disclosures. This form acknowledges that the parties have provided the mandatory information required by JDF 1125 within 40 days of service, the signing of the Waiver and Acceptance of Service or Service of Process.

This is the instrument that ends the marriage. It normally incorporates the separation agreement, provided that the court finds the agreement "not to be unconscionable."

Couples who can available themselves of Colorado's simplified divorce may file this Affidavit that permits a dissolution without either of them appearing in court.

This form outlines the issues that the couple have decided regarding the terms and conditions of the distribution of assets and liability as well as spousal support. The court follows the Separation Agreement as it pertains to the parties and their property unless it finds the agreement "unconscionable," in which case it may order the parties to begin again on a new agreement.

This order is custom written to the situation of the couple. A QDRO spells out the terms and conditions by which spouses divide a pension subject to distribution under the terms and conditions of the divorce. The QDRO instructs the Pension Plan Administrator about these terms and orders payment distributions.

The courts may require this notice to set a final hearing.

This notice gives the spouses the time, date and place of the hearing.

Depending upon the terms and conditions of child custody, the Petitioner must file one of two Child Support Obligation Worksheets. They are:

> Worksheet A -- Child Support Obligation: Sole Physical Care, JDF 1820E or 1820M, which is used when a parent has sold physical care of the child for 273 nights or more, or

> Worksheet B -- Child Support Obligation: Shared Physical Care, JDF 1821E or 1821M, which is used when a parent spends more than 92 nights per year with each parent.

Both Worksheet A and Worksheet B require complicated calculation based on gross monthly income, percentages of share of income plus adjustments. The E indicates an EXCEL version of the form; the M indicates a manual version of the form.

The Support Order spells out the terms and conditions (amount and frequency) of child and/or spousal support. It is a Court Order.

This ten-page form spells out in great details the terms and conditions of the allocation of parental responsibilities, weekday and weekend schedules, summer schedule, holidays and special days, overnights, telephone access, travel and vacation, relocation, financial obligations for the benefit of the children, child(ren) support, medical, dental and vision insurance expenses, extraordinary expenses, the tax dependency exemption, and other terms. The Parenting Plan may be a Full Joint Parenting Plan, when both spouses agree to everything and the plan is signed by both parties; a Partial Joint Parenting Plan, when the parties are not in complete agreement about all elements of the plan but both sign it; or a Parenting Plan prepared by one party, when the parties cannot agree. When the parties cannot come to a Full Joint Parenting Plan, either the Petitioner or the Respondent must complete a Pretrial Statement JDF 1129, identifying elements of the plan in dispute.

This notice requires the employer of the Obligor of spousal or child support without income, which is conveyed to the Family Support Registry (FSR) for payment to the Obligee.

This notice requires the employer to deduct payment from the wages of the Obligor sufficient to cover the payment of insurance sufficient to pay for medical insurance for himself or herself and the children.

This notice informs the health insurance provider that the Obligor is under a Court Order to pay health insurance to cover his or her children. It requires the health insurance provider to inform the obligee, who is usually the custodial parent, of any cancellation in insurance.