Divorcing couples often worry about what will happen to the assets they built before their marriage. This stress is a normal part of such a major life change. Here’s the thing: Not everything you own is automatically up for grabs during the legal process. Understanding the difference between marital and separate property is the first step toward a clearer future.
Marital and separate property in Colorado
In a Colorado divorce, your assets are generally placed into two different categories. Marital property includes almost everything you and your spouse acquired during the years you were married. This often includes your family home, retirement accounts and income earned during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title. The court’s job is to divide these shared assets fairly between both parties.
Separate property, on the other hand, consists of assets that belong only to you. This usually includes items you owned before the wedding or specific gifts and inheritances received during the marriage. By law, these assets are set aside and stay with the original owner.
What is separate property under state law
Identifying which items belong solely to you is an important part of protecting your bottom line. Under Colorado law, certain assets are categorized as separate property and are generally not subject to division by the court. These typically include:
- Pre-marital assets: Anything you owned, including real estate or bank accounts, before you said “I do.”
- Inheritances: Funds or property you received individually from a family member’s estate, even during the marriage.
- Individual gifts: Items given specifically to you by someone other than your spouse.
- Exchanged property: Assets you acquired using other separate property you already owned.
While these items start as separate, keep in mind that they can become marital property in certain circumstances.
Separate what’s yours vs. your spouse’s
Separate property can legally become marital property if you “commingle” it. This happens when you mix your own funds with shared family money, such as by depositing an inheritance into a joint bank account. You might want to keep a home you owned before the wedding, but if the house gained value while you were married, a judge will often split that specific gain between both parties. Detailed records of the assets you brought into the marriage and how you managed them may offer the best possible protection for your separate property.