What Does "Equitable Division" Mean?

One of the first things clients ask me is how a judge will divide property. There are two legal theories when it comes to dividing property: “community property” and “equitable division.” Colorado is an equitable division state. This means that, although courts typically end up splitting the property equally, the court can choose to divide the property unequally.

When dividing property, the court will first characterize property as either “marital” or “separate.” Read my article, “What is Marital Property?” to find out how the court makes this determination.

After characterizing the property as either marital or separate, the court will then divide the property between the parties in a manner that it deems “fair.” This is essentially what “equitable division” means – the court deciding how to split the property fairly.

The court will consider the following factors when dividing property: (1) the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the property; (2) the value of the property given to each spouse; (3) the economic circumstances of each spouse at the time of the property division; and (4) any increases or decreases in value during the marriage.

Are you concerned about how your property will be divided if you get divorced? Give Katelyn a call today to discuss your options.