Greeley Law Blog

Getting a DUI in Colorado is no joke. You may have to go to classes or a DUI program. You may lose your license. You may have to pay fines and fees. You could spend time behind bars. At the very least, you will get arrested the night that the police stop you for driving under the influence.

These are all of the ramifications that people traditionally think of when considering drunk driving. However, even these things do not go far enough. Here are a few more ways a DUI could impact your life that you may not have considered before:

Moving gets difficult after divorce, at least when you have children with your ex. If you both have a right to see the kids under the court-ordered child custody arrangement, then moving may violate your ex's rights.

For instance, perhaps your ex has the right to see the kids for dinner twice during the week, along with their living with your ex every other weekend. If you both live in Greeley, that's not all that hard to coordinate. If you decide to move to Salt Lake City or Chicago, though, it becomes impossible. Even a closer move within Colorado -- moving to Denver or Boulder, for instance -- can make it far more difficult. If your ex does not drive or has limited funds, a move of almost any distance can prove problematic.

During your divorce, you and your ex split up some pretty serious debts, along with your assets. You divide credit card debt down the middle. You take the car and agree to pay off the loan. Your ex, meanwhile, takes the house. You still have a mortgage on it, but your ex agrees to keep things simple and just make those payments.

You move into your own apartment and start your own life in Greeley. Two years later, you've put that time in your life behind you. You're dating again, you have your own place to live and you're moving forward with your career. Everything seems to be going well. You even paid off that car loan and the credit card debt, so you have some financial freedom.

If you talk to people about drunk driving, you'll hear a common refrain: "I'd never get behind the wheel if I was too drunk to drive."

There's a problem here, however. The idea is good, but it's based on the premise that you can take stock of how drunk you are when you leave the bar, the party or just your house. You can then decide if it's safe to drive or not. If it's not, you can find another ride.