COLORADO SPRINGS MILITARY DIVORCE LAWYER

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COLORADO SPRINGS MILITARY DIVORCE LAWYER – REPRESENTATION FOR SERVICE MEMBERS AND MILITARY SPOUSES

EXPERIENCED MILITARY DIVORCE REPRESENTATION IN EL PASO AND TELLER COUNTY

Ending a marriage while one spouse wears the uniform requires more than general family law knowledge – it requires command of a second body of federal law that sits on top of Colorado's dissolution statutes. Retired pay, survivor benefits, healthcare eligibility, and a deployed member's right to pause the case are all governed by federal rules that a Colorado judge cannot waive and the parties cannot negotiate around. Colorado Springs sits at the center of this: Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, the United States Air Force Academy, and Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station are all in El Paso County, with a large retiree, Guard, and Reserve population extending into Woodland Park and Teller County.

At Moran, Allen & Associates, our attorneys handle dissolution, parenting, and support matters for military families throughout the Fourth Judicial District – including the pension division orders, benefit-eligibility timing, and deployment provisions that determine what your decree is actually worth ten years from now.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHY MILITARY DIVORCE IS DIFFERENT IN COLORADO SPRINGS

A civilian divorce rarely involves a federal agency that has to approve the wording of your decree before it will pay anyone. A military divorce often does. Every case filed in Colorado Springs or Woodland Park goes to the Fourth Judicial District, which covers both El Paso County and Teller County – but what is on the table changes substantially when one party is in uniform.

Here is why military status changes the analysis:

• A separate jurisdictional test for the pension. Colorado can dissolve your marriage under one standard and still lack authority to divide military retired pay under another. These are different questions with different answers.
• Federal deadlines the court cannot extend. Survivor Benefit Plan coverage is lost permanently if a one-year filing window is missed, regardless of what the decree says.
• Benefit thresholds tied to exact dates. Healthcare eligibility after divorce can turn on whether a marriage reached twenty years of overlap with creditable service. A judge cannot round up.
• Income that does not appear on a W-2. Housing and subsistence allowances are untaxed but count fully as income for Colorado support calculations.
• Deployment and PCS orders. Parenting plans have to survive an unaccompanied tour or a move across the country, and federal law limits how a court may treat a deploying parent's absence.
• Orders DFAS will reject. A pension division order that a Colorado court signs is not self-executing. If it does not meet federal drafting requirements, no money moves.

Related pages: Family Law Services · Colorado Springs Divorce · Woodland Park & Teller County

WHICH ATTORNEYS HANDLE MILITARY DIVORCE CASES

Military divorce is a family law case with a federal overlay, so the relevant qualification combines two things: sustained Fourth Judicial District courtroom experience, and working familiarity with the federal statutes and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) submission requirements. The attorneys below handle these matters for our firm.

Michael Thomas Allen, Partner

Colorado Bar # 51125. Mike leads the firm's family law division. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and interned with both public defender and district attorney offices in Colorado and Minnesota before graduating in 2017. He prosecuted misdemeanors and felonies in El Paso County before entering private practice, and he currently serves as municipal prosecutor for the City of Manitou Springs and as a protection order prosecutor selected by TESSA. That trial background matters directly in military cases: contested final orders in this district are heard by a district court judge, not resolved on the papers.

Michael Warren Moran, Senior Partner

A Southern Colorado native and practicing Colorado Springs trial lawyer since 1994, Mike Moran served as Municipal Court Judge for the City of Victor from 1995 through 1998. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and law school at the University of Denver. He accepts protection order matters in El Paso, Teller, Fremont, Pueblo, and Douglas counties – directly relevant experience in military cases, where a protection order carries consequences for a service member's clearance, weapons qualification, and career that simply do not exist for a civilian respondent.

Supporting Attorneys and Paralegal Staff

• Konnor Matthew Manley, Chelsea Hayes, and Kate Zacharias – family law attorneys with prosecutorial backgrounds, handling contested parenting and support litigation.
• Justin Lindsay and Ryan Skajewski – family law attorneys.
• Ashton Baker, Senior Paralegal, with Talina Malhani and Mattea Correll – assembling Leave and Earnings Statement records, service computations, and the certified documents DFAS requires.

You can review the full roster on our Meet Our Team page.

A Note on Base Legal Assistance

If you are a service member, one point is worth stating plainly: a base legal assistance attorney can advise you and help you understand your rights, but a JAG attorney cannot enter an appearance and represent you in a Colorado district court dissolution. Legal assistance and private counsel are complementary resources, not substitutes for one another.

COLORADO LAW THAT CONTROLS YOUR CASE

Colorado is a pure no-fault state. The only ground for dissolution is that the marriage is irretrievably broken, and marital misconduct does not drive the property or support outcome. Everything else flows from a handful of statutes that every military family should understand before filing.

The Two 91-Day Rules

Under C.R.S. § 14-10-106, a district court may enter a decree only when one party has been domiciled in Colorado for 91 days preceding the filing, the marriage is irretrievably broken, and at least 91 days have elapsed since the court acquired jurisdiction over the respondent through service or an entry of appearance. Those are two separate periods: one is a prerequisite to filing, the other is a waiting period that runs afterward and cannot be waived by agreement.

The word "domiciled" does real work in a military case. Domicile means physical presence combined with intent to make Colorado a permanent home. Being stationed here under orders does not automatically create it – but a member who obtains a Colorado driver's license, registers vehicles here, registers to vote here, or files Colorado income tax may well establish it. The statute also requires only that one party be domiciled here, so a civilian spouse settled in Colorado Springs can satisfy the requirement even when the member's home of record is Texas or Florida.

Property Division

C.R.S. § 14-10-113 makes Colorado an equitable distribution state: marital property is divided in a manner the court considers just, which does not necessarily mean equally. Property acquired by either spouse during the marriage is presumed marital regardless of whose name is on the title, and the increase in value of separate property during the marriage is itself marital. Colorado has recognized military retirement as divisible marital property since In re Marriage of Gallo, 752 P.2d 47 (Colo. 1988), subject to the federal jurisdictional limits discussed below.

Spousal Maintenance

C.R.S. § 14-10-114 provides an advisory guideline that applies only where the marriage lasted at least three years and the parties' combined annual adjusted gross income is $240,000 or less. Within that band, the guideline figure is 40% of the higher earner's monthly adjusted gross income minus 50% of the lower earner's, capped so the recipient does not receive more than 40% of combined monthly income, with a multiplier then applied. The statute expressly states these guidelines do not create a presumptive amount or term – the court retains discretion and must make findings supporting whatever it orders.

Child Support and the LES

C.R.S. § 14-10-115 uses an income shares model built on each parent's gross income, defined as income "from any source" with only the exclusions the statute itself lists. For a service member that means the calculation is built from the Leave and Earnings Statement – not the W-2 and not the tax return. Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance for Subsistence are non-taxable and therefore invisible in taxable wages, but they are income for Colorado support purposes. Colorado courts have gone further and imputed housing value to members living in government quarters who receive no BAH at all. In re Marriage of Long, 921 P.2d 67 (Colo. App. 1996). See also Child Support.

Parenting, Deployment, and the UDPCVA

Colorado does not use the word "custody." C.R.S. § 14-10-124 governs the allocation of parental responsibilities – parenting time and decision-making – under a best interests standard with the child's safety paramount. Colorado also adopted the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act in 2013, codified at C.R.S. § 14-13.7-101 et seq., which provides protections that matter enormously here:

• A parent's past or possible future deployment may not serve as the sole basis for a best interests determination.
• Deployment does not change the deploying parent's residence for child custody jurisdiction purposes.
• Parents may enter a written agreement allocating caretaking authority during deployment and file it with the court.
• Absent agreement, a party may move for an interim custody order, with an expedited hearing and testimony by electronic means.
• Interim arrangements terminate when deployment ends rather than hardening into a new status quo.

See also Child Custody and Parental Responsibilities.

Filing, Disclosure, and the Automatic Injunction

A case is commenced under C.R.S. § 14-10-107, which triggers an automatic temporary injunction binding both parties. In plain terms it restrains either spouse from disposing of marital property outside the ordinary course, from removing the children of the marriage from Colorado without consent or a court order, and from cancelling or altering insurance coverage. For a military family that last item is not theoretical – dropping a spouse from DEERS or changing a beneficiary designation mid-case can violate the injunction.

The core forms are published by the Colorado Judicial Branch: JDF 1000 (Case Information Sheet), JDF 1101 (Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation), and JDF 1111 (Sworn Financial Statement), along with the parenting plan and separation agreement forms. Current versions and the current filing fee are on the El Paso County forms page. Financial disclosure under C.R.C.P. 16.2 is mandatory and continuing – it is not something the other side has to request.

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FEDERAL MILITARY DIVORCE LAW: USFSPA, SCRA, AND BENEFITS

Who Can Divide the Pension: 10 U.S.C. § 1408(c)(4)

The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA), 10 U.S.C. § 1408, permits – but does not require – a state court to treat disposable military retired pay as marital property. It also imposes a jurisdictional restriction stricter than Colorado's ordinary long-arm rules. A court may divide retired pay only if it has jurisdiction over the member by reason of residence in the state for reasons other than military assignment, domicile in the state, or the member's consent.

Colorado treats this as preempting state law. In In re Marriage of Akins, 932 P.2d 863 (Colo. App. 1997), the Court of Appeals held that consent under § 1408(c)(4) requires affirmative conduct demonstrating express or implied consent to general in personam jurisdiction – it cannot be inferred from a mere failure to object. The practical consequence is stark: a member stationed at Fort Carson whose domicile is elsewhere, and who does not consent, may be divorced in Colorado while the Colorado court lacks authority to touch the pension.

The 10/10 Rule – and What It Does Not Mean

Under 10 U.S.C. § 1408(d)(2), DFAS will pay a former spouse's awarded share directly only if the marriage overlapped at least ten years of the member's creditable service. This is the single most misunderstood rule in military divorce. The 10/10 rule governs the payment mechanism, not the entitlement. A spouse married six overlapping years can still be awarded a share of the marital portion – the award simply has to be collected from the retiree rather than from DFAS, which is exactly why enforcement language matters so much in shorter marriages.

The Frozen Benefit Rule

For divorces finalized on or after December 23, 2016, section 641 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 amended the USFSPA at 10 U.S.C. § 1408(a)(4)(B). A former spouse's share is now calculated using the member's high-three average pay and years of creditable service as of the date the decree is entered, rather than at actual retirement. Promotions and additional service after the divorce no longer inflate the former spouse's share. For an order to be accepted, it generally has to supply the frozen-benefit data DFAS needs – meaning those figures must be gathered before final orders, not after.

VA Disability and the Howell Problem

Disposable retired pay excludes amounts waived to receive VA disability compensation. In Howell v. Howell, 581 U.S. 214 (2017), the Supreme Court held unanimously that a state court may not order a veteran to indemnify a former spouse for the reduction caused by a post-divorce VA waiver. The Court did note that family courts remain free to account for the possibility of a future waiver when dividing property or setting maintenance in the first place. Separately, VA disability compensation is not divisible as property, but Colorado's expansive definition of gross income means it can still be counted as income for support.

Military Benefit Thresholds at a Glance

These are hard federal thresholds. A court cannot extend them and the parties cannot waive them. Where a marriage sits close to a threshold, the timing of the decree can be worth more than any other single term in the case.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The SCRA, 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901–4043, supplies two protections that come up constantly in this district:

• Protection against default (§ 3931). Before default judgment may enter against a non-appearing party, the plaintiff must file an affidavit regarding military service. If the party is in the service, the court must appoint counsel and must grant a stay of at least 90 days in defined circumstances.
• Stay of proceedings (§ 3932). A service member with actual notice may apply in writing for a stay of at least 90 days by showing how military duties materially affect the ability to appear, together with a date when appearance will be possible.
• Custody (§ 3938). A court may not treat a service member's deployment-related absence as the sole factor in a permanent custody determination.

What the SCRA does not do is prevent a divorce. It is a shield against being defaulted or disadvantaged while deployed – not a veto. And it is not automatic: the protections must be invoked correctly and on time.

WHAT HAPPENS IN FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT FAMILY COURT

Once a Petition is filed in El Paso or Teller County, the sequence is fairly predictable, and knowing it removes much of the anxiety that comes with a first case. El Paso County matters are filed at the courthouse at 270 South Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs; Teller County matters are heard in Cripple Creek.

Step 1: Filing and Case Assignment

Attorneys are required to file electronically in Fourth Judicial District domestic cases. Self-represented parties may file at the clerk's office in Room S101 or use the court's e-filing portal for non-attorneys. Every domestic relations case is assigned to both a magistrate (identified by a letter – Division X, Division Y) and a district court judge (identified by a number). Magistrates generally handle filings and hearings before final orders plus uncontested final orders; district court judges handle contested final orders and most post-decree matters.

Step 2: Service of Process

The Petition and Summons must be personally served under Rule 4 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure unless the parties file jointly as co-petitioners. There is no special federal rule for serving a service member – a member in the United States can be served the same way anyone else can, at least off-post. Access control at Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, or the Academy is a logistical problem to solve, not a legal shield.

Step 3: The Initial Status Conference

The mandatory Initial Status Conference must take place within 42 days of filing the Petition. Where a party is represented, counsel schedules it. The ISC is not a hearing – there is no testimony and no argument. It is a working meeting that sets deadlines, confirms disclosure obligations, and identifies what is contested. Attendance is mandatory, and this is usually the first place a deployment schedule or an upcoming PCS should be put on the record. The court then issues the district's domestic relations case management order (form FCF 400) governing the pre-decree phase.

Step 4: Disclosure and Parenting Class

Sworn Financial Statements and supporting documents are exchanged under C.R.C.P. 16.2. In cases involving children under 18, both parents must complete an approved Level 1 parenting class – a requirement that applies even when the parents agree on everything.

Step 5: Mediation

In the Fourth Judicial District, mediation is generally required before a contested final orders hearing is set. Most military cases resolve here, and that is usually the better outcome: a negotiated pension division order can be drafted carefully enough to satisfy DFAS, while a hurried courtroom ruling sometimes cannot.

Step 6: Final Orders

Uncontested matters are frequently handled on the papers or in a short appearance before the magistrate. Contested matters are set before the district court judge. In either case, no decree can enter until 91 days have run from service or from the joint filing date. For the general timeline, see our Colorado Divorce Timeline guide. If a magistrate's ruling needs to be challenged, see Magistrate Order Review and Family Law Appeals.

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COMMON MILITARY DIVORCE SCENARIOS

The fact patterns below are composites drawn from the kinds of cases that come through this district. Identifying details have been changed and no scenario describes a specific client or predicts a result in any particular case.

RISKS AND MISTAKES TO AVOID

• Treating the 10/10 rule as an entitlement rule. It determines who writes the check, not whether a share is owed.
• Signing a decree with pension language DFAS will reject. A rejected order is not self-correcting. It usually requires returning to court – sometimes years later, sometimes against a party with no remaining incentive to cooperate.
• Missing the one-year SBP deemed election deadline. This is the most costly avoidable error in military divorce, and it is not recoverable afterward.
• Relying on the member to elect former-spouse SBP at retirement. The retirement election form does not require the former spouse's signature.
• Ignoring the 20-year thresholds when the decree date is negotiable. Neither the court nor the parties can waive a federal eligibility rule.
• Building support off the W-2 instead of the LES. Non-taxable allowances do not appear in taxable wages but are income under C.R.S. § 14-10-115.
• Assuming VA disability is invisible. It is not divisible as property, but it is income for support.
• Taking a default against a deployed member. A judgment entered in violation of the SCRA is vulnerable to being reopened, which can unwind a settlement everyone had moved on from.
• Consenting to jurisdiction without meaning to. For a member domiciled elsewhere, affirmative participation in the case can supply the consent § 1408(c)(4) requires.
• Violating the automatic temporary injunction. Moving children out of state, liquidating a Thrift Savings Plan account, or dropping insurance after filing are all injunction problems.
• Missing the 42-day ISC or the C.R.C.P. 16.2 disclosure deadlines because of a field problem or training rotation, rather than raising the conflict with the court in advance.
• Assuming base legal assistance will handle the litigation. JAG attorneys advise; they do not appear in Colorado district court on your behalf.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can I File in Colorado If My Home of Record Is Another State?

Possibly. C.R.S. § 14-10-106 requires that one party be domiciled in Colorado for 91 days before filing. Being stationed here does not automatically create domicile, but presence combined with intent can – and your spouse's own Colorado domicile can satisfy the requirement on its own. Note that whether Colorado can divide the pension is governed by a separate and stricter federal test.

My Spouse Is Deployed. Can I Still File?

Yes. Filing and service are not barred by deployment. What the SCRA controls is whether the case can proceed to judgment while your spouse is unable to participate. Expect the timeline to extend if a stay is granted.

Will My Spouse Automatically Receive Half of My Retirement?

No. Colorado divides the marital portion equitably, which is not the same as equally, and the USFSPA caps what DFAS will pay directly at 50% of disposable retired pay. The size of the marital portion itself depends on how much of the career overlapped the marriage.

We Were Married Eight Years. Does My Spouse Get Nothing?

That is a misunderstanding of the 10/10 rule. Below ten years of overlap DFAS will not pay directly, but a Colorado court can still award a share of the marital portion.

Will I Lose TRICARE When the Divorce Is Final?

Unless you meet the 20/20/20 test, coverage as a spouse generally ends at the decree. A 20/20/15 former spouse receives one transitional year. Otherwise the Continued Health Care Benefit Program is usually the bridge option. See the benefit thresholds table above.

Does BAH Count as Income for Child Support?

Yes. Colorado defines gross income as income from any source. Both BAH and BAS are included even though they are not taxable, and Colorado courts have imputed housing value to members living in government quarters.

Can the Court Make Me Pay My Ex Back If I Take VA Disability?

Under Howell v. Howell, a court cannot order indemnification for a post-divorce VA waiver. Whether a pre-existing contractual promise inside a separation agreement changes that analysis is fact-specific and worth discussing before you sign anything.

Do I Have to Pay Support Before There Is a Court Order?

Each service has its own family support regulation. The Army's AR 608-99, for example, requires interim support in the absence of a court order or written agreement, generally keyed to the non-locality BAH with-dependents rate for the member's rank. These are command policies enforced through the chain of command, not court orders – and a Colorado court order supersedes them.

What Happens If I PCS in the Middle of the Case?

The case does not follow you automatically. Tell your attorney as soon as orders drop so the parenting plan, hearing dates, and appearance method can be addressed before the move rather than after.

Can My Spouse Receive Part of My Thrift Savings Plan?

Yes. TSP balances accumulated during the marriage are marital property under C.R.S. § 14-10-113 and are divided through a separate qualifying retirement benefits court order, not through the DFAS pension order.

How Long Will a Military Divorce Take in El Paso County?

The statutory floor is 91 days after service or joint filing. In practice, an uncontested case in this district commonly runs three to five months. Contested cases involving pension valuation, deployment stays, or relocation frequently run a year or more. If your case is genuinely uncontested, see Uncontested Divorce.

Will a Protection Order Affect My Military Career?

It can. Protection orders carry consequences for service members – including firearms restrictions with obvious occupational implications – that do not apply to civilians. See Protection Orders and Restraining Orders.

Author

Michael T. Allen

Partner at Moran, Allen & Associates

Colorado Bar # 51125

When a family is facing a legal crisis, clients need more than legal knowledge. They need a lawyer who is prepared, steady under pressure, and honest about the road ahead. My experience as a felony prosecutor helps me evaluate difficult cases and advocate effectively, while my family law practice keeps the focus where it belongs – on the people whose lives will be shaped by the outcome.

Last reviewed: July 27, 2026

CONTACT MORAN, ALLEN & ASSOCIATES TODAY

Schedule Your Free Military Divorce Consultation

If you are stationed at Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, Cheyenne Mountain, or the Air Force Academy – or you are a retiree or military spouse living anywhere in El Paso or Teller County – a consultation is a practical starting point rather than a commitment. It is a chance to find out which jurisdiction can actually decide your case, what your service dates and marriage dates mean for the pension and for healthcare eligibility, and which deadlines are already running.

We offer a free consultation to review your situation and explain your options. Bring what you have: a recent Leave and Earnings Statement, your marriage date, your service entry date, any existing court orders, and any deployment or PCS orders on the horizon. Those documents answer most of the threshold questions in the first meeting.

Timing-sensitive matters – an approaching benefit threshold, a pending deployment, a one-year SBP window already running – are worth raising as early as possible.

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SOURCES

Colorado Statutes

• C.R.S. § 14-10-106 – Dissolution of marriage; legal separation (91-day domicile and waiting periods)
• C.R.S. § 14-10-107 – Commencement; pleadings; automatic temporary injunction
• C.R.S. § 14-10-113 – Disposition of property
• C.R.S. § 14-10-114 – Spousal maintenance; advisory guidelines
• C.R.S. § 14-10-115 – Child support guidelines; determination of income
• C.R.S. § 14-10-124 – Best interests of the child
• C.R.S. § 14-13.7-101 et seq. – Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act
• C.R.S. § 14-13.7-302 – Proceeding for interim custody order
• C.R.C.P. 16.2 – Court facilitated management of domestic relations cases; mandatory disclosure

Colorado Case Law

• In re Marriage of Gallo, 752 P.2d 47 (Colo. 1988) – military retirement as divisible marital property
• In re Marriage of Long, 921 P.2d 67 (Colo. App. 1996) – imputation of housing allowance value for support
• In re Marriage of Akins, 932 P.2d 863 (Colo. App. 1997) – consent to jurisdiction under 10 U.S.C. § 1408(c)(4)

Federal Statutes

• 10 U.S.C. § 1408 – Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act, including § 1408(a)(4)(B) (frozen benefit), § 1408(c)(4) (jurisdiction), and § 1408(d)(2) (10/10 direct payment)
• 10 U.S.C. § 1072(2)(F), (G), (H) – 20/20/20 and 20/20/15 former spouse eligibility
• 10 U.S.C. § 1078a – Continued Health Care Benefit Program
• 10 U.S.C. § 1450(f)(3) – Survivor Benefit Plan deemed election
• 50 U.S.C. §§ 3901–4043 – Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including § 3931 (default judgments), § 3932 (stay of proceedings), and § 3938 (child custody)
• National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Pub. L. No. 114-328, § 641 – frozen benefit rule

Federal Case Law

• Howell v. Howell, 581 U.S. 214 (2017) – indemnification for post-divorce VA waiver preempted

Courts, Agencies, and Forms

• Colorado Judicial Branch – El Paso County Forms (JDF 1000, JDF 1101, JDF 1111, FCF 400)
• Colorado Judicial Branch – Initial Status Conference
• DD Form 2656-10 – Survivor Benefit Plan former spouse request for deemed election
• Army Regulation 608-99 – Family Support, Child Custody, and Parentage
• Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7B, Chapter 29 – former spouse payments from retired pay

This page provides general information about Colorado and federal law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes, court forms, filing fees, and local court procedures change; outcomes depend on facts specific to each case, and no result is guaranteed. For advice about your situation, speak with a licensed Colorado attorney.