Colorado Revised Statutes 2018 TITLE 14
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Colorado Revised Statutes 2018 TITLE 14 DOMESTIC MATTERS Cross references: For the "Colorado Children's Code", see title 19. ADOPTION - ADULTS ARTICLE 1 Adoption of Adults 14-1-101. Adoption of adults. (1) Any person desiring to adopt an adult as heir at law shall file his petition therefor in the juvenile court of the county of his residence or the county of the residence of the person sought to be adopted, and thereupon summons shall issue the same as provided in the Colorado rules of civil procedure and be served on the person sought to be adopted. Such person shall file in the court a written answer to the petition within the time required by the summons and shall either consent to such adoption or deny or disclaim all desire to be adopted by such person. (2) Upon the filing, by the person sought to be adopted, of a disclaimer of all desire to become the heir at law of the petitioner, the petition shall be dismissed by the court, but upon the filing of a consent to such adoption, whether by the person sought to be adopted or by a legally qualified conservator or other representative if such person is non compos mentis at the time, the prayer of the petition shall be granted, and a decree of adoption shall be rendered and entered by the court declaring such person the heir at law of the petitioner and entitled to inherit from the petitioner any property in all respects as if such adopted person had been the petitioner's child born in lawful wedlock, and such decree may or may not change the name of such adopted person, as the court rendering the decree may deem advisable; and such decree or a certified copy thereof may be used as primary evidence in any court establishing the status of the person so adopted. (3) Any action for adoption pursuant to this section shall follow the same procedure insofar as practicable as provided in part 2 of article 5 of title 19, C.R.S., concerning the adoption of children. Source: L. 67: p. 1055, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 4-2-1. L. 87: (3) amended, p. 815, § 14, effective October 1. MARRIAGE AND RIGHTS OF MARRIED PERSONS ARTICLE 2 Colorado Revised Statutes 2018 Page 1 of 232 Uncertified Printout Marriage and Rights of Married Persons PART 1 UNIFORM MARRIAGE ACT Editor's note: This part 1 was numbered as article 1 of chapter 90, C.R.S. 1963. The provisions of this part 1 were repealed and reenacted in 1973, resulting in the addition, relocation, and elimination of sections as well as subject matter. For amendments to this part 1 prior to 1973, consult the Colorado statutory research explanatory note beginning on page vii in the front of this volume. Annotator's note. For legality of common-law marriages in this state, see Graham v. Graham, 130 Colo. 225, 274 P.2d 605 (1954). 14-2-101. Short title. This part 1 shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform Marriage Act". Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1016, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 90-1-1. 14-2-102. Purposes - rules of construction. (1) This part 1 shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes. (2) Its underlying purposes are: (a) To strengthen and preserve the integrity of marriage and to safeguard meaningful family relationships; (b) To provide adequate procedures for the solemnization and registration of marriage. Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1016, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 90-1-2. 14-2-103. Uniformity of application and construction. This part 1 shall be so applied and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this part 1 among those states which enact it. Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1016, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 90-1-3. 14-2-104. Formalities. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of this section, a marriage is valid in this state if: (a) It is licensed, solemnized, and registered as provided in this part 1; and (b) It is only between one man and one woman. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 14-2-112, any marriage contracted within or outside this state that does not satisfy paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall not be recognized as valid in this state. Colorado Revised Statutes 2018 Page 2 of 232 Uncertified Printout (3) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to repeal or render invalid any otherwise valid common law marriage between one man and one woman: (a) Entered into prior to September 1, 2006; or (b) Entered into on or after September 1, 2006, that complies with section 14-2-109.5. Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1016, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 90-1-4. L. 2000: Entire section amended, p. 1054, § 1, effective May 26. L. 2006, 1st Ex. Sess.: (3) amended, p. 9, § 1, effective July 18. Editor's note: (1) In Kitchen v. Herbert, 755 F.3d 1193 (10th Cir. 2014), the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children, and enjoy the full protection of a state's marital laws. A state may not deny the issuance of a marriage license to two persons, or refuse to recognize their marriage, based solely upon the sex of the persons in the marriage union. (2) In Bishop v. Smith, 760 F.3d 1070 (10th Cir. 2014), the Tenth Circuit held that Oklahoma's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage that states "Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by precluding same-sex couples from receiving an Oklahoma marriage license. The Tenth Circuit has jurisdiction over Colorado in addition to Utah and Oklahoma, and section 31 of article II of the state constitution is similar to the constitutional provisions of those states. On January 16, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court granted petitions for writs of certiorari in consolidated cases from Sixth Circuit states that also had similar provisions. (3) In Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. __ (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted state constitutional and statutory provisions similar to section 31 of article II of the state constitution and to this provision and held that the right to marry is a fundamental right and that the Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state. Cross references: For the constitutional provisions stating that marriage is between one man and one woman, see section 31 of article II of the state constitution. 14-2-105. Marriage license and marriage certificate. (1) The executive director of the department of public health and environment shall prescribe the form for an application for a marriage license, which must include the following information: (a) Name, sex, address, social security number, date and place of birth of each party to the proposed marriage; and for such purpose proof of date of birth may be by a birth certificate, a driver's license, or other comparable evidence; (b) If either party has previously been married, such party's married name and the date, place, and court in which the marriage was dissolved or declared invalid or the date and place of death of the former spouse; (b.5) If either party has previously been a partner in a civil union and, if so, the name of the other partner in the civil union, or the date, place, and court in which the civil union was Colorado Revised Statutes 2018 Page 3 of 232 Uncertified Printout dissolved or declared invalid, or the date and place of death of the former partner in the civil union; (c) Name and address of the parents or guardian of each party; (d) Whether the parties are related to each other and, if so, their relationship, or, if the parties are currently married to each other, a statement to that effect. (2) The executive director of the department of public health and environment shall prescribe the forms for the marriage license, the marriage certificate, and the consent to marriage. Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1016, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 90-1-5. L. 93: (1)(b) and (1)(d) amended, p. 437, § 1, effective July 1. L. 94: IP(1) and (2) amended, p. 2731, § 347, effective July 1. L. 2016: IP(1) amended and (1)(b.5) added, (SB 16-150), ch. 263, p. 1080, § 2, effective June 8. Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending the introductory portion to subsection (1) and subsection (2), see section 1 of chapter 345, Session Laws of Colorado 1994. For the legislative declaration in SB 16-150, see section 1 of chapter 263, Session Laws of Colorado 2016. 14-2-106. License to marry. (1) (a) When a marriage application has been completed and signed by both parties to a prospective marriage and at least one party has appeared before the county clerk and recorder and has paid the marriage license fee of seven dollars, a fee of twenty dollars to be transmitted by the county clerk and recorder to the state treasurer and credited by the treasurer to the Colorado domestic abuse program fund created in section 39-22- 802 (1), C.R.S., and an additional amount established pursuant to section 25-2-121, C.R.S., such amount to be credited to the vital statistics records cash fund pursuant to section 25-2-121, C.R.S., the county clerk shall issue a license to marry and a marriage certificate form upon being furnished: (I) Satisfactory proof that each party to the marriage will have attained the age of eighteen years at the time the marriage license becomes effective; or, if over the age of sixteen years but has not attained the age of eighteen years, has the consent of both parents or guardian or, if the parents are not living together, the parent who has legal custody or decision-making responsibility concerning such matters or with whom the child is living or judicial approval, as provided in section 14-2-108; or, if under the age of sixteen years, has both the consent to the marriage of both parents or guardian or, if the parents are not living together, the parent who has legal custody or decision-making responsibility concerning such matters or with whom the child is living and judicial approval, as provided in section 14-2-108; and (II) Satisfactory proof that the marriage is not prohibited, as provided in section 14-2- 110.