Statutory Injunction

Statutory Injunction

By Carl O. Graham

Upon the other spouse being served, or signing a waiver, in a divorce or legal separation (i.e. not an annulment), C.R.S. 14-10-107(4)(b)(I) puts an automatic injunction in effect which prohibits both spouses from:

  1. Removing the children from Colorado without permission from the other spouse or the family law court. Depending upon the children's ages, a Colorado divorce court would typically grant permission to take an out-of-state vacation, but, over the other spouse's objection, chances of relocating permanently while a divorce in Colorado is pending, are slim to none.
  2. Disturbing or harassing the other spouse.
  3. Hiding, destroying, transferring or disposing of marital property, except in the ordinary course of business.
  4. Canceling or modifying any insurance (health, auto, life, etc.) without your spouse's written consent or the Colorado divorce court's permission, or allowing the policy to lapse for non-payment.

Note that the prohibited list of actions does not explicitly include canceling a power of attorney (POA), canceling joint credit cards, opening a new bank account and having one's paycheck deposited into the new account, or taking one's name off from utility or other bills connected with a residence where the other spouse is residing.

However, given that some of these actions may leave your spouse (and kids, if applicable) in the lurch, it may well be a serious mistake to take those actions - imagine the other parent and kids are driving in the middle of nowhere, pull up to a gas station only to find that the credit cards have been cancelled. Or the kids have no electricity or water because you canceled the utilities.

Accordingly, consult with your attorney before you make any financial changes to make sure the proposed course of action is not just legal, but to make sure it is advisable. And if at all possible, explore other alternatives.

Similarly, the injunction does not prohibit changing one’s will, or a beneficiary on an IRA or other account - often spouses will do this with impunity.

Though the injunction does not explicitly prohibit transfers prior to service of process, don't do it. I’ve seen several cases where one spouse thought he/she could beat the system, and withdrew, or transfered to a family member, tens of thousands of dollars from a joint account, then when asked about it, gave a shoulder shrug, suggesting no knowledge of what happened. It never ended well for any of them - as the court simply finds the spouse dissipated the funds, and awards the other spouse an offset. Meanwhile, the spouse who engaged in the shenanigan lost credibility, and that hurt the person on other issues in contention.

Finally, just as “if it isn’t prohibited, go ahead and to it” is poor advice for canceling accounts, the opposite is also true - just because you can object to something, it doesn’t mean you should! For example, if the other parent has had a long-planned vacation with the kids out of state, not only do you look bad trying to oppose it, but you end up putting the kids in the middle of things. Courts take a dim view of using the children as pawns, and in such situations judges will readily give their permission if asked.

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Divorce