Colorado is a state that follows the principle of a “No Fault” divorce. This means that the court does not require the parties to state a reason for their divorce. In other states, the parties must cite one of a few reasons for a divorce to go forward, such as infidelity or abandonment. In Colorado, at least one party must believe that their marriage is “irretrievably broken,” but the court will not pursue why that is.
The other side of the no fault divorce is that a party’s behavior during the marriage rarely has an impact on how the marital estate will be distributed. The equitable distribution of the estate is not based on conduct unless it can be proven that a spouse acted improperly by dissipating the estate.
While some people may believe that their spouses should be punished for bad behavior during the marriage, the no fault policy means that the court doesn’t have to air the parties’ dirty laundry, or make moral decisions rather than legal and equitable decisions.
