Legal help in Colorado | Prepaid Legal Information

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What brings you here?

Family & children

Custody, support, divorce

Home & housing

Renting, eviction, repairs

Work & workplace

Pay, job loss, discrimination

Money & consumer problems

Debt, credit, scams

Health, disability & benefits

Coverage, benefits, accommodations

Driving & criminal charges

Tickets, licenses, arrests

Immigration & citizenship

Status, applications, qualified help

Accidents & legal disputes

Injuries, claims, lawsuits

Wills, estates & planning ahead

Wills, probate, care planning

Business & taxes

Contracts, employees, specialist advice

Before you rely on a plan

A state rule does not tell you whether a plan covers your issue. Check the product, effective date, existing-matter rules, lawyer network, and extra costs.

Check the benefit and exclusions · Compare plans, lawyers, and legal aid

Need a person to help?

Find local civil legal aid or use the state court and help directory below. Ask about eligibility and available assistance.

General information, not legal advice. Some steps vary by county or court.

State sources and detailed research

Start with these resources

Free help and next steps

Find local civil legal aid. Ask the program about eligibility, issue limits, available help, and response time. Applying is not acceptance or an agreement to represent you.

Court self-help information explains procedures; it does not establish attorney representation.

Compare help for your situation

A detail worth knowing

Colorado calls its Self-Represented Litigant Coordinators "Sherlocks." Every judicial district has a self-help or court resource center. Coordinators can help people navigate noncriminal matters and locate forms, but cannot provide legal advice or advocate for a party. Source: court resource centers.

Legal help beyond divorce

Protect your home, money, and plans

Three sourced distinctions for Colorado. Reviewed October 10, 2026. Exceptions and local rules still matter.

Small claims

Up to $7,500; winning and collecting are separate jobs.

The court's guide covers eligible money, property, and specified contract claims. There is no jury, and the court does not collect the judgment for you. Check venue, service, and likely collectability before committing time and filing costs.

Colorado Judicial Branch: Guide to Small Claims, page 1

Ask your prepaid planAsk whether advice, a demand letter, or preparation is included. Court appearance and collecting a judgment are separate questions.

Rental deposits

30 days by default; a lease can extend the period to no more than 60 days.

The enacted 2026 rule runs from lease termination or surrender of the premises, whichever occurs last. Deductions need exact written reasons and the remaining balance; normal wear and preexisting damage cannot be charged to the deposit. Keep evidence of both dates and the original condition.

Colorado HB25-1249 signed act: sections 3-4, effective January 1, 2026

Ask your prepaid planAsk whether lease review or help responding to a deduction notice is covered. Confirm whether tenant work, landlord work, and representation have different limits.

Wills

Ordinary signed wills can use two witnesses or acknowledgment before an authorized notary.

The court's instructions describe these as alternative execution routes. Witnesses sign within a reasonable time after signing or acknowledgment; the notarial route requires the maker's acknowledgment. Handwritten and self-proved wills have separate requirements, so follow the chosen document's instructions.

Colorado Judicial Branch: probate instructions 34:2 and related will types

Ask your prepaid planAsk whether a simple will, revisions, and signing guidance are included. Trusts, tax planning, or probate work may need a different benefit or paid engagement.

Handwritten wills and inheritance defaults

Signature and material portions in your handwriting can qualify. A qualifying holographic will does not need ordinary witnesses. This is separate from the witnessed or notarized route, and does not make a partly completed typed template automatically valid.

Colorado Revised Statutes 15-11-502(2)

Shared-family cases can pass entirely to the spouse; other cases use an adjusted amount plus half. The spouse receives all when all the deceased's descendants are shared and the survivor has no other descendants. Otherwise the applicable initial amount depends on whose descendants are nonshared, followed by half the balance. The statutory dollar amounts are inflation-adjusted; verify the death-year amount rather than using the base figure.

Colorado Revised Statutes 15-11-102

These are selected rules for the intestate estate, not every account or jointly owned asset. Beneficiary designations, spouse protections, debts, and family-status exceptions need separate review. Confirm current law with a local lawyer.

Planning follow-through: Which signing route will the plan lawyer supervise, and does the benefit include coordination of titles and beneficiaries rather than only the will? Compare will-signing rules and prepaid help. Estate comparison reviewed October 11, 2026.

Consumer debt

A collection letter and a court summons need different responses.

Ask a local lawyer about the debt type, limitation period, response deadline, and any protected income or property. A generic deadline from another state may not apply.

CFPB: debt-collection rights and responses (federal resources, not a state-law comparison).

Ask your prepaid planConfirm whether reviewing a collection notice or defending a suit is included. A benefit is not debt forgiveness or a promise to stop collection.

Divorce law details and state comparison

Divorce law details

Colorado: the important distinctions

Reviewed October 11, 2026. General information; exceptions and jurisdiction questions require individual review.

Where you can file

One spouse generally needs 91 days of Colorado domicile before the proceeding begins.

The child's home-state and other jurisdiction questions are separate. Ask which court can address the family's actual issues before relying on a recent move.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-106

Grounds & separation

Irretrievable breakdown is the basis for dissolution.

Legal separation is a different decree and does not end the marriage. Discuss the practical consequences of the requested order, not just the name on the form.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-106

Timing: what starts the clock

A separate 91-day decree minimum starts when the court acquires jurisdiction over the respondent.

Service, joining as a co-petitioner, or another appearance can start that clock. It is not automatically 91 days from every filing; unresolved issues can add time.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-106(1)(a)(III)

Property & debts

Separate property is set apart; marital property is divided in just proportions.

Appreciation and mixed contributions need review before assuming an asset is entirely separate. Ask about acquisition records, valuation, retirement work, and the settlement's net effect.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-113

Spousal support

Maintenance guidelines are advisory, not a presumptive entitlement or award.

The court assesses the circumstances and makes findings. Ask how your needs, resources, and proposed property settlement fit before treating a calculator as a prediction.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-114

Parenting & child support

Parenting time and decision-making follow best interests, with the child's safety paramount.

Co-parenting is not appropriate in every situation. Tell the lawyer about coercion or abuse before using a shared template, and review exchanges, school, travel, and expenses.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-124

Agreed & simpler processes

Affidavit-based final orders have eligibility conditions and do not shorten the waiting period.

Children, representation, service, disputed facts, and property affect eligibility. Ask for independent agreement review, particularly where support or other financial terms would become difficult to change.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-120.3

Help while a case is pending

Temporary orders can address debts, property use, support, parenting, and legal expenses.

Interim relief does not predetermine final rights. Ask which motion and evidence apply and whether your prepaid benefit covers the hearing rather than only initial advice.

Colorado Revised Statutes 14-10-108

Ask your prepaid plan: Is a consultation or agreement review available for these issues? Confirm pre-existing-matter rules, waiting periods, conflicts if both spouses are members, and separate charges for negotiation or court representation. State law is not a promise of plan coverage.

Minimum legal periods are not completion estimates. Do not delay urgent advice or miss a claim deadline while waiting for a benefit.

Compare Colorado with another researched state · Local divorce and safety resources · Prepaid divorce limitations

Divorce & safety resources

Divorce information in Colorado

Understand the local process

Colorado Judicial Branch: divorce and separation. Review forms, filing steps, and local court requirements.

Check the local court's forms, filing and service requirements, response deadlines, and fee-waiver instructions. A form packet is not individualized legal advice.

Compare divorce paths and service benefits · Find local legal aid

Divorce resource reviewed October 10, 2026. Existing legal-help research dates above are unchanged.

Safety and law enforcement are separate routes

Immediate danger: call 911. 911 information is not an online emergency-response service.

For domestic-violence support: National Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Safety-first divorce guidance. Use a safer device if monitoring is a concern.

For a non-emergency law-enforcement contact, WomensLaw's sheriff-department directory lets you choose Colorado. Confirm jurisdiction and the current local number; not every matter belongs to a sheriff. This is a directory, not emergency dispatch or confidential advocacy.

Forms and local filing

Start with the judiciary's forms collection and the self-help topic matching the issue. A form's availability does not establish that it fits your facts. Confirm the court, local filing instructions, and required attachments before submission. Source: court forms.

Legal aid and finding a lawyer

The judiciary links to Colorado Legal Services, legal clinics, and lawyer-finding resources. Contact the relevant organization to ask about eligibility, the issues it handles, and whether assistance includes advice or representation. A self-help coordinator is not a substitute for your own attorney. Source: legal-help resources.

Before paying for a plan or service

Will a network attorney handle my noncriminal matter in the relevant Colorado court? Does the benefit cover advice, preparation, negotiations, and appearances, or only some of those tasks?

Request the plan document that applies to your location and enrollment, not just a national benefits summary.
Ask for a written answer about the specific matter, effective date, existing-matter rules, network attorneys, and service limits.
Separate consultation, document preparation, attorney review, negotiation, and court representation. Ask exactly which tasks the quote includes.

Public court resources and legal-aid eligibility are not evidence that a commercial plan covers the same issue. Use the policy checklist and provider policy examples to organize questions.

Build a realistic budget

Colorado's regular fee-waiver page identifies JDF 205, a motion, and JDF 206, the associated order, and explains income and public-benefit criteria. It also distinguishes procedures for people in jail or prison. Use the current instructions applicable to your situation and confirm what costs remain outside any relief. Source: fee-waiver process.

Compare future plan payments and uncovered expenses with a direct quote for the same work. Past nonrefundable dues are not savings you can recover by buying more coverage. The cost calculator and future payments and cancellation help separate those decisions.

Before filing or signing

Confirm the current instructions, deadlines, and local rules. If an issue involves safety, disputed rights, or a deadline, seek timely qualified help; do not wait for a new subscription to resolve a coverage question.

Other state guides · All consumer guides

State outline adapted from Wikimedia Commons, CC0. General information, not legal advice.