Equitable Doesn't Necessarily Mean Equal
Equitable division — not equal division — is the rule for marital property in a Colorado divorce. While a 50-50 division is typical, a judge could order a different division based on factors ranging from whether one side is paying alimony to behavior during the marriage.
At the Waters Law Firm in Denver, we offer a free initial attorney consultation to explain how marital property is divided in divorce and to answer your questions.
What is Marital Property?
Marital property includes all assets acquired during the marriage, with certain exceptions like gifts and inheritances. Liquid assets such as pension plans and savings accounts are easy to divide. Non-liquid assets such as businesses, furs, collectible cars and paintings are more complex and will need to be appraised. Once appraised, assets can be either exchanged between the parties or sold with the proceeds being divided.
Assets you owned prior to your marriage (as well as gifts and inheritances received during your marriage) generally remain yours and are not divided. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if a house is refinanced during the marriage and re-titled in both parties' names, then a lawyer could argue that the separate property has been re-characterized as marital property and is subject to division.
What Is an Equitable Division?
Equitable property division is whatever a judge determines to be fair given the facts of the case. Judges can take into consideration such factors as the earning capacity of each party, the amount of child support and spousal support that one side pays to the other, as well as behavior during the marriage.
For example, if there is evidence of severe mental or physical abuse during the marriage, the judge can take that into consideration and award a greater share of marital property to the abused spouse.
Common law marriages: The same marital property rules that apply to married couples also apply in common law marriages.
Free Lawyer Consultation
During difficult times, it is helpful to talk to a lawyer you can trust. For a free initial consultation with attorney John Waters about marital property division, call 303.731.6327 or fill out the contact form on this Web site.
