In Colorado, many individuals and families choose to handle their family law matters on their own due to the expense of hiring an attorney. This can often leave families feeling confused, overwhelmed, and a bit unsure of their rights. Fortunately, there is a better option for lower-cost legal representation for Colorado family law cases.
Licensed legal paraprofessionals (LLPs) can provide legal representation in Colorado family law matters. A LLP must meet strict education and experience requirements and pass an exam to become licensed. They can handle many aspects of family law cases, although there are some limits on the scope of their representation. At Ascent Legal Group, our team includes experienced LLPs to save you some money while still providing the highest quality legal service.
Ascent Legal Group offers high-quality legal representation to clients throughout Colorado. When you hire our law firm, you can choose to work with a LLP or a family law attorney based on your needs. No matter which you choose, you will have peace of mind in knowing that your legal rights will be protected. Contact our law firm today to schedule a free consultation with a licensed legal paraprofessional.
Explore Whether or Not a LLP Makes Sense For Your Case
Our team can help you determine if it makes more sense to work with an attorney or a LLP for your specific case.
What Is a Licensed Legal Paraprofessional?
In 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court approved the licensure of a new type of legal professional: licensed legal paraprofessionals (LLPs). This decision makes Colorado one of just five states that allow non-lawyers to practice law in a limited form. LLPs are still required to have legal training and expertise, and are subject to similar standards for character and fitness as licensed attorneys
In Colorado, LLPs can offer limited representation in family law cases. The goal of this program is to ensure that more Coloradans can have affordable legal assistance. In approving this program, the Colorado Supreme Court determined that 74% of parties involved in domestic relations cases (such as child custody and divorce) represented themselves. A LLP can offer limited legal representation to not only protect the rights of their clients, but also help cases move more efficiently through the judicial system.
LLPs are not attorneys. However, they still have to meet certain eligibility criteria, including education, experience, and passing an exam. For people with more straightforward family law cases, an LLP can be a terrific option as a way to get legal help without the higher cost of hiring a lawyer. While hiring a LLP isn’t the right choice for every family law matter, our Colorado LLPs offer great value and excellent representation for appropriate cases. We can help you determine if a LLP is right for your case when you schedule a free initial consultation with our firm.
Our LLP Services
Our LLPs can assist you in a wide variety of family law matters. In these cases, our LLPs can advise, assist in mediation, and prepare and file papers in court. With some limitations, our LLPs can also appear at hearings.
Establishing, enforcing, and modifying child support
Name changes
Protective orders
How Our LLPs Can Assist You
If you hire our Colorado LLPs for your family law case, they will be able to:
- Interview you;
- Prepare and complete approved forms, including proposed parenting plans, separation agreements, motions or stipulations for establishing or modifying child support, child support worksheets, proposed orders, nonappearance affidavits, discovery requests and answers to discovery requests, trial management certificates, pretrial submissions, and exhibit and witness lists;
- Inform, counsel, advise, and assist you in deciding which Court-approved form to use for a family law matter and advise you on how to complete that form, if you wish to fill out those forms yourself;
- Obtain, explain, and file any document or information in support of a form, including sworn financial statements and certificates of compliance;
- Sign, file, and complete service of documents;
- Review documents of another party or pension/retirement documents and explain them to you;
- Inform, counsel, assist, and advocate for you in negotiations and mediations;
- Fill in, sign, file, and complete the service of a written settlement agreement;
- Communicate with another party or their representative about documents prepared in the case;
- Communicate with you;
- Explain a court order that affects your rights and obligations;
- Stand or sit at the counsel table with a client during court proceedings to make statements and arguments, communicate with you, provide emotional support, take notes, and answer the court’s questions;
- Provide you with information about additional resources or requirements; and
- Advise you about the need for a lawyer to review complex issues that may arise in a matter.
Determining If You Need a LLP or a Lawyer
While our LLPs can do a lot on behalf of clients, there are certain things that they cannot do. Perhaps most importantly in family law cases, LLPs cannot question witnesses. If an expert is required in your family law case (such as a forensic accountant to provide information on the valuation of assets in a divorce), then you will need to work with one of our family lawyers because the LLP won’t be able to handle that aspect of the case.
The Rules of Civil Procedure prohibit LLPs from performing certain services:
- The registration of foreign orders;
- Motions for or orders regarding punitive contempt citations;
- Matters involving an allegation of common law marriage in which either party disputes the existence of a common law marriage or the date when the common law marriage formed;
- Matters involving disputed parentage where there are more than two parents or alleged parents asserting or denying legal parentage;
- Matters in which a non-parent’s request for the allocation of parental responsibilities (APR) is contested by at least one parent;
- Preparation of or litigation regarding pre- or post-nuptial agreements;
- Matters in which a party is a beneficiary of a trust and information about the trust will be relevant to the resolution of the matter;
- Matters in which a party intends to contest the jurisdiction of the court over any issue in the matter;
- The preparation by the LLP of a qualified domestic relations order (“QDRO”) or other document allocating retirement assets that are not liquid at the time of the matter;
- The preparation by the LLP of documents needed to effectuate the sale or distribution of assets of a business entity or commercial property;
- Matters in which an expert report or testimony is required to value an asset or determine income due to the inherent complexity of the asset or income at issue; or
- Issues collateral to, but directly affecting, a matter which falls within the LLP’s scope of practice, when such issues require analysis and advice outside that scope of practice, such as immigration, criminal, and bankruptcy issues that could directly affect the resolution of the matter.
When you schedule a free initial consultation with our law firm, we can offer you options for representation based on your specific situation. For many family law cases, a LLP will be more than capable of handling your case. You also always have the option of choosing to work with one of our attorneys – including in situations where your case becomes more complex as litigation proceeds. Because our law office offers both options, we can be flexible to meet your unique case needs.
What Are the Advantages of Using a LLP?
The primary reason why the Colorado Supreme Court authorized the licensure of LLPs is to offer Coloradans a more affordable form of legal representation in family law matters. Many people going through a divorce or child custody battle simply don’t have the funds to pay an hourly rate for a lawyer. A LLP is a less expensive alternative for situations where your family law case doesn’t require a higher level of legal expertise.
Many Coloradans choose to handle their own Colorado family law matters due to the cost of hiring an attorney. With a LLP, you can get legal guidance at a much lower cost. Working with a LLP means that you can get advice and protect your rights in a family law case even if you cannot afford to hire a lawyer.
Colorado LLPs are also specialized in the field of family law, with a minimum of 1,500 hours of substantive legal experience required to even sit for the LLP exam. This focus means that your LLP is adept at handling matters related to divorce, child custody, and child support. They can listen to your concerns, give you advice, and prepare and file the necessary paperwork on your behalf. A LLP can also talk you through your rights and options under Colorado law.
Family law cases come with a lot of stress and anxiety. On top of the stress of going through a breakup and/or custody battle, many people are also worried about how they will pay for a lawyer. If you find yourself in that situation, then a LLP might be the best option for your case.
Having legal representation is particularly important in emotionally-charged cases where you might not be inclined to make decisions based on logic. There is an old saying that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. The rationale behind that saying is that it is hard to be rational when you are representing yourself. The same holds true for people involved in family law matters who choose to represent themselves.
We know that it isn’t easy to pay for legal representation, particularly when finances are likely already tight due to things like paying for two houses instead of one. That is why we are excited to be able to offer an alternative to our clients. With our Colorado LLP option, you can get experienced legal representation from a licensed legal paraprofessional for a fraction of the cost of hiring an attorney.
Offering Full-Service Colorado Family Law Representation
The option to be represented by a LLP in Colorado family law matters is a welcome change for many Coloradans. LLPs can handle many family law cases using their experience, education, and expertise in the field. If you need more robust representation, our Colorado family law attorneys can provide full representation in your case.
At Ascent Legal Group, we are proud to offer legal services to fit every budget. Our LLPs bill at a lower hourly rate than our team of experienced family lawyers, making it possible for everyone to get outstanding legal representation. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation with a member of our legal team, give us a call at 719-256-0067 or fill out our online contact form.