Emancipation is a more difficult question for a child who is employed but who is living at home with a parent. Parties may obligate themselves by a written agreement entered with the court to support children through college. Absent an agreement, the court may not order child support to continue for college past the age of 19. Also, if a child is disabled to the extent that they are unlikely to be able to support themselves, child support may be extended if the motion is filed prior to the age of 19. However, once the child supports terminates, it is not possible to later return to court to extend the order if an adult child becomes disabled.

Portions of a pension or retirement account, which have accumulated (either by contributions, or passive increase in the value of invested assets) during a marriage, are considered to be marital property. These may be divided by a judge as part of a divorce or by the parties as part of a divorce agreement.

The law permits all or portions of plans such as IRAs and 401ks to be transferred as part of a divorce outcome without incurring tax or penalty for withdrawal. The law also permits fixed retirement plans such as Colorado public employees retirement association benefits [PERA] to be divided as those benefits are paid out over the lifetime of retirement.

I am happy to assist clients through the mediation process. It is often a wise course, and likely to reach the best result for the client. I can often provide a valuable service to advise clients going through this process utilizing a few hours of legal time.