Legal Question in Family Law in Colorado

Re: Clarify what determines a common law marriage, is a divorce necessary, there

The insurance form may be sufficient, should the old girlfriend choose to claim they are married. She can get child support, whether or not they are married, but she will need to motion the court to obtain it. The custody issue would also need to be put before the court, if the issue is to be decided. If she and your boyfriend do nothing, the informal relationship can continue. The old girlfriend may, however, also have a case that she is entitled to a significant portion of the assets your boyfriend has accumulated since the insurance paper was signed--including assets he might gain, should the two of you attempt to get "married." While you indicate that there are no joint assets, in fact, if she is successful in getting the court to recognize the common law marriage, the court may also consider any assts your boyfriend has acqired since the insurance paper was signed to be joint or marital assets. In other words, it may be in your boyfriends interest to get the divorce in order to end the time period on which the old girlfriend might have a claim on his assets. To put it bluntly, your boyfriend may still have a considerable amount of baggage resulting from having fathered a child and sought insurance coverage for the birth of that child. It may not be so easy to make that go away.