Eight stages — the injunction arrives first, and the decree is final when entered.

1. Stage 1

   File — the petition + THE AUTOMATIC INJUNCTION

   The petition must allege the marriage is irretrievably broken and set forth the § 14-10-107(2) contents — residence and its length, the marriage's date and place, the separation date, children and pregnancy, any parental-responsibilities and support arrangements, the relief sought, and the WRITTEN ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the automatic temporary injunction. That injunction binds the petitioner (and any co-petitioner) at filing: marital property, peace, children leave-state, and insurance — with FOURTEEN DAYS' advance notice before any policy change.

   C.R.S. § 14-10-107

2. Stage 2

   Serve — or JOIN: the 91-day clock arms

   The decree floor runs from JURISDICTION over the respondent, however acquired: C.R.C.P. 4 service, joining as CO-PETITIONER, or an appearance — the earliest trigger controls (§ 14-10-106(1)(a)(III)). Colorado's floor runs from jurisdiction over the respondent — and joining as CO-PETITIONER is itself a jurisdiction trigger. Spouses who file together start the 91-day clock the day they file, with no service step at all. Service also extends the automatic injunction to the respondent; where personal service fails, the publication lane exists (§ 14-10-107(4)(a)) with a 35-day response window after publication.

   C.R.S. § 14-10-106 · C.R.S. § 14-10-107

3. Stage 3

   The response window

   The served summons states the response deadline — the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure control it, and their consolidated text is print-official, so verify the stated date against the summons itself and the clerk. The one response figure this corpus DOES carry: service by publication gives 35 days from publication before default may enter (§ 14-10-107(4)(a)). A non-appearing respondent does not stall an agreed case — the affidavit lane (§ 14-10-120.3) exists for that posture.

   C.R.S. § 14-10-107 · C.R.S. § 14-10-120.3

4. Stage 4

   The Initial Status Conference

   Colorado's domestic-relations case management runs on C.R.C.P. 16.2 — an early INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE puts the case on track and calendars the exchange machinery. The rule's consolidated text is print-official (LexisNexis), so this platform states the practice with the deferral named and will not quote day counts from an unofficial mirror: verify the ISC setting with the clerk, the case management order, or the official JDF instructions.

5. Stage 5

   Disclose — the SFS + THE FIVE-YEAR REOPENER

   The Sworn Financial Statement (JDF 1111, label-only — the official form controls) anchors the mandatory exchange, commonly ~42 days from service or co-petition under C.R.C.P. 16.2 (print-official; verify the operative dates). Completeness is the whole game: a misstated or omitted material asset keeps the property division REOPENABLE FOR FIVE YEARS after decree (16.2(e)(10), the Durie doctrine) — and concealing property while disclosures pend also violates the automatic injunction (§ 14-10-107).

   C.R.S. § 14-10-107

6. Stage 6

   Temporary orders — on MOTION (the injunction is already automatic)

   Colorado splits its interim layer: the § 14-10-107 injunction is AUTOMATIC, and everything with a dollar figure rides a § 14-10-108 motion — temporary payment of debts, use of property, maintenance, parental responsibilities, child support, and attorney or LICENSED LEGAL PARAPROFESSIONAL fees, affidavit-supported. Expanded restraints and exclusive use of the home ride the same motion machinery.

   C.R.S. § 14-10-108

7. Stage 7

   Permanent orders — the 91-DAY FLOOR badge

   The decree cannot enter before 91 days have elapsed since the court acquired jurisdiction over the respondent (§ 14-10-106(1)(a)(III)) — the floor badge this tracker carries from the serve-or-join stage. Allocation-of-parental-responsibilities proceedings receive PRIORITY in hearing settings, and the court sits WITHOUT A JURY (§ 14-10-128). At permanent orders the posture pair matters: child support is a REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION (§ 14-10-115); maintenance guidelines are expressly ADVISORY (§ 14-10-114).

   C.R.S. § 14-10-106 · C.R.S. § 14-10-128

8. Stage 8

   Decree — FINAL WHEN ENTERED

   The decree of dissolution is final when entered, subject to appeal — and an appeal that does not challenge the irretrievable-breakdown finding does not delay that provision's finality (§ 14-10-120(1)). The affidavit lane skips the courtroom, never the clock (§ 14-10-120.3(2)). A decree of LEGAL SEPARATION converts to dissolution no earlier than 182 days after entry, on motion with notice (§ 14-10-120(2)). And Colorado's signature survives the decree: the property division stays reopenable for five years where a material asset was misstated or omitted (16.2(e)(10) — print-official rule, doctrine stated with the deferral named).

   C.R.S. § 14-10-120 · C.R.S. § 14-10-120.3

Legal information, not legal advice — courts control their calendars, and district practice varies (the clerk, the family court facilitator, and the Sherlocks settle local questions until BenchPath clerk-proves each county here).