Family Law Blog

Distribution of Assets in a Colorado Divorce

By Denver Divorce Lawyer on November 18, 2010

Dividing a couple’s assets during a divorce in Colorado can get very complicated, even if the separation is amicable. In the United States, each state has their own set of laws regarding how marriage assets should be divided. Colorado is what’s called an “equitable distribution” state, which means the court will rule on what is considered a fair division of the assets if the parties are unable to reach a settlement. Forty-one states in the U. S. are equitable distribution states.

Marital assets can include a wide variety of things, such as your home, the money in your bank account, the money in your retirement account, any real estate that has been acquired during the marriage, furniture, motor vehicles owned, and even jewelry.

To determine how the marital assets should be distributed in a Colorado divorce, the court will go through what’s called a discovery process to categorize which assets, debts, and property are considered marital. Then a monetary value is assigned to each item. Lastly, the court will distribute the marital assets between the two parties equitably, which does not mean equal, but instead means what is determined by the court to be fair.

There are a variety of factors that can influence how the court divides the marital assets between two parties in a Colorado divorce. These include:

• The duration of the marriage;
• The income of both parties;
• Whether children are involved, and which party is responsible for providing for them;
• Whether one party owns separate property that is of great value;
• The age and health of both parties; and
• Whether there was abuse or infidelity (to penalize the offending spouse).

Sometimes, a spouse may attempt to get a more positive result from a Colorado divorce filing and hide assets or income, or even falsely accuse the other spouse of mistreatment. A family law attorney who has dealt with many Colorado divorce cases and has experience with the distribution of assets can help bring these dishonest tactics to an end. They can also work with you to help you obtain the maximum amount of assets while adhering to good ethics.

If you are considering filing for divorce in Colorado, contact the Denver divorce attorneys at Kaplan Law, LLC to find out how we can help you protect your assets during the divorce process. For more information, call 1-877-527-5260 today.