Property Owned by Spouses
Colorado Division of Property Lawyer
Colorado is a dual property equitable distribution state. What this means is that unless the parties make a fair and equitable agreement concerning distribution of their property, a judge will make that decision for them for them, by equitably dividing up the marital property but not the separate property.
Attorney Jeff Alter understands your rights in the property that you have acquired before and during the marriage, and will use his knowledge and experience to protect those rights.
Marital property is considered to be property owned by the parties jointly as spouses, and essentially includes all property that is not a spouse's separate property. Separate property includes property acquired:
- Before the marriage.
- By gift, bequest, devise or descent.
- In exchange for property acquired before the marriage or for property acquired by gift, bequest, devise or descent.
- By a spouse after a decree of legal separation.
How is Marital Property Distributed?
A court is required to divide the property equitably. Importantly, "equitable" does not mean "equal". "Equitable" means consideration of all relevant factors and including the following specific statutory factors:
- Contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, and the contribution of a spouse as homemaker.
- The value of the property set apart to each spouse.
- The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of the division, including the desirability to award the family home to the spouse with whom the children will reside the majority of the time.
- Increases or decreases in the separate property's value during the marriage or the depletion of separate property for marital purposes.
Proceeding without an attorney in any of these areas can greatly increase the risk that you rights will not be adequately protected - Consult with Jeff to better understand your rights.