Divorce Frequently Asked Questions: Maintenance (Child Support)
- Can I Be Ordered to Pay My For Kid’s College In My Colorado Divorce?
- My husband and I have been separated for 5 years. Can I get child support back to when we separated?
- My husband and I have been separated for 5 years. Can I get child support back to when we separated?
Pursuant to the main Colorado child support statute, C.R.S. 14-10-115, a court only has jurisdiction over a party to a divorce from either the date of filing a case (if that person files) or the date of service, for the other party. People often ask our experienced child support attorneys whether they can seek child support back to separation. The answer is, “no.” This differs from paternity cases filed pursuant to C.R.S. Title 19, in which a person can presumably seek child support back to the date of birth of the child. The legal rationale for this aspect of a divorce case is that paternity is known, parties are separated, and if the recipient really wanted to do something about support, he or she would have filed the case sooner. If separated, but not yet ready to file for divorce or legal separation, a married person can also file a separate child support case.
