Frequently Asked Questions

Ending a Marriage is Hard, But the Process of Ending One Doesn't Have to Be

We assist people trying to do a ‘Do it yourself divorce’ – by taking over the mundane part for you…drafting and filling out the paperwork…for about the cost of a shopping cart full of groceries.

We’ll even file it for you if you like.   

Don’t throw your hard-earned money away on dueling lawyers, or waste countless hours of your valuable time trying to wade through the morass of filling out and filing your own divorce papers.

We Make Doing Your Own Divorce Easy

If you and your spouse can cooperate in the interest of saving yourselves a ton of money, time and heartache by arriving at settlement terms yourselves, we’ll make the process of getting your divorce easy by doing all the paperwork for you. Why spend days figuring out what you need to do, and countless hours of your valuable time doing the paperwork yourselves…not to mention the frustrating hassles with court clerks.  Just complete our online questionnaire and your custom paperwork will be in your hands in no time.

Two large stacks of papers

Drafting your own paperwork or using one of the "document services"' gets you a huge stack of papers....then what?

Filing a divorce case can be tricky. When you use Calder Family Law’s DIY service and choose the option of having us file for you, that’s something you won’t have to worry about…because we take care of filing it with the court for you.  No one else does that, and most lawyers charge thousands for filing even an uncontested divorce.

No Court Appearance In Most Do It Yourself Divorce Cases

Parties without children are almost never required to appear in court. [If you have minor children, you will participate in two short meetings with a court employee, often virtually].

Empty court room

What is a Calder Family Law version of a "Do It Yourself Divorce" and Why Should You Do Your Divorce this Way?

A “DIY divorce” typically involves parties who want to cooperate in the divorce process to save time and money and to have more say as to the outcome so they come up with their own plan for dividing things up. 

Man and woman look out of window together with some distance between them
Silhouette of man and woman facing each other

Typically, people have three options when it comes to getting a divorce:

  1. Hire lawyers to represent them and plan on spending thousands.
  2. Fill out all the forms themselves (there are over a dozen, more if you have children, together with pages of confusing and often conflicting instructions).
  3. Utilize the expertise of someone like Calder Family Law to write up your papers for you using terms you and your spouse came up with yourselves.

Not everybody can cooperate well enough to do a DIY divorce, but for those who can, the rewards are considerable, not just in money saved, but also in time, energy, emotion, stress and more.

Here's What a Calder Family Law 'Do It Yourself Divorce' Looks Like

First, you both must want to do this amicably; and you must agree on everything.  If so, you qualify for a DIY divorce.  Cooperating and coming up with your own agreement terms is the “do it yourself part”.  We do the rest – preparing all the documents – so you won’t have to.   Simply complete and submit our easy online questionnaire along with your payment. We take Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. The questionnaire is designed to tell us what we need in order to draft your divorce documents. Your information is “ssl” secure and encrypted for your security. We will review your questionnaire and let you know if we have questions or need any additional information.

Couple sits on wooden bench together
Maroon Bells peaks in Colorado behind alpine lake

Mr. Calder, a 5 star Google-rated LOCAL divorce lawyer, then prepares your custom paperwork, personally. We don’t use law students or paralegals. We do only Colorado cases, so we are familiar with the turf, unlike the document services that operate in all 50 states.

Your completed paperwork will be emailed to you usually within 1-2 business days along with easy-to-follow instructions to guide you through signing.  At this point the document services wish you “luck” after handing you a stack of papers and confusing filing instructions. Not us.

Man and woman sit at bar drinking coffee

If you opt for us to file your papers with the court for you, once you and your spouse have signed the documents and completed the brief financial form required by the court, we have you mail them back to us, along with the court filing fee check, and we review them, making sure they are all accounted for and no signatures were overlooked, then WE will send them to the appropriate Colorado court for filing.

That sounds simple, but it’s not. Lots of missteps are possible when filing that can result in rejection or delay.  If you opt to have us file for you, you won’t have to worry about any of that. If you prefer to file yourself, we’ll give you specific instructions on how to do so.   Either way, your final divorce decree will be issued by the court in about 91 days.   It’s that simple.

Couple stands next to each other looking at boat dock

Transparent Pricing

For couples without children, our fee is $299.* For those with children, it’s $499.* No surprises. There will be no other charges for your DIY divorce unless you request revisions after the paperwork is done or ask for additional services.

*If you choose our optional filing service, add $100 plus $9 for postage and handling.  The court’s filing fee of $230 is not included in our pricing  because you will be paying it directly to the court when the case is filed.  

We Do Not Represent Either Party and Remain Neutral at all Times

Mr. Calder does not represent either party, cannot give advice to either party, and will maintain neutrality at all times. That way you can both rest assured that your DIY divorce experience will be fair and unbiased.

How Long Will it Take?

It takes us 1-2 business days to prepare your paperwork after we get all your information. Then after you both sign them and return them to us, we will send them on to the court. When the court receives them, a 91-day mandatory waiting period begins, per Colorado law. That time cannot be shortened. You will receive your official divorce decree in the mail a few days after the 91st day.

Is it legal to do a Do It Yourself Divorce online like this?

Yes, DIY divorces done online are absolutely legal.  In fact the online process is uniquely suitable for doing your own divorce with a little help from someone like Mr. Calder who knows the ropes.   

Is There a Gurantee?

Yes, we will prepare your documents so that they will be acceptable to the court, period. We screen your case before we ever accept your payment to make sure that your agreement terms will meet the court’s criteria. If there is a problem, we will bring it to your attention and help you rectify it. If it cannot be rectified and there is just no way to draft your paperwork in conformity with the court’s requirements, your card will not be charged in the first place.


In the unlikely event that the court rejects your agreement for a cause attributable to us, we will work with you to correct it – and if it can’t be corrected…we will give you a full refund…because we stand behind our work.

To Start Your Do It Yourself Divorce Case Now...

Press this link to access our online Questionnaire and start your Colorado DIY divorce case without children. There’s no need to open an account or set up a login. You can also inspect the Questionnaire without submitting it if you would like.

To start a Colorado DIY divorce case with children under 19 years of age, press this link and you will be taken to our online Questionnaire for those types of cases. 

a couple sits on a bench in a park looking upset

Questions? Or to Speak to a Real Live Person During Business Hours

Call 303-883-9346

Some of the Recognition Mr. Calder Has Received for His Work

AP Peer Review Rated Badge
Divorce Lawyer in Aurora, Stephen Calder was named Denver Top Rated Lawyer by the Denver Post
Stephen Calder recognized as Top 10 Family Lawyer in Colorado
5 Star Google Rating
Image of text that reveals Stephen Calder is "Rated as one of the top 3 Family Lawyers in Aurora" according to ThreeBestRated.com

We Accept the Following Credit Cards

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