Quick answer: Colorado is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state. The court sets apart each spouse’s separate property and divides the marital property, without regard to marital misconduct, in such proportions as it deems just after considering all relevant factors. Colorado has no equal-division presumption. Separate property acquired before the marriage or by gift or inheritance stays separate, but any increase in its value during the marriage is treated as marital property.
What the Colorado statute says
- Division. The court divides the marital property in such proportions as it deems just, without regard to marital misconduct (C.R.S. 14-10-113(1)).
- Factors. The contribution of each spouse to acquiring the marital property, including as homemaker; the value of the property set apart to each spouse; each spouse’s economic circumstances when the division takes effect, including the desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live there to the spouse with whom the children live most of the time; and any increases or decreases in the value of separate property during the marriage or depletion of separate property for marital purposes.
- Marital property. All property acquired by either spouse after the marriage except gifts, bequests, devises and descent; property acquired in exchange for premarital or gifted property; property acquired after a decree of legal separation; and property excluded by valid agreement.
- Presumption and increases. Property acquired during the marriage is presumed marital regardless of title, and a separate asset is marital to the extent its present value exceeds its value at the marriage or acquisition.
- Valuation. Property is valued as of the date of the decree or of the hearing on disposition of property, if earlier.
How the calculator works
You enter the marital assets and debts each spouse holds and the value of any separate asset at the marriage and now. The calculator adds the increase in separate property to the marital property, subtracts debts, and shows each share and the equalizing payment for the share you choose. The statute sets no percentage, so nothing on this page predicts what a judge will order. The reasoning is in how Colorado divides property, marital versus separate property and the family home and buyouts.
Property and maintenance
The marital property each spouse receives is one of the findings the court makes before deciding maintenance, and it can award additional property to reduce the need for maintenance. See the Colorado maintenance calculator.
Property division across Colorado
The statute applies in every Colorado district court, from Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Boulder or Pueblo. The court may divide property in a dissolution, a legal separation or a later proceeding for disposition of property, and it may also divide public-employee retirement benefits directly by the plan if the parties sign a written agreement that meets the statute.
Frequently asked questions
Is Colorado a community property state?
No. Colorado divides marital property in such proportions as the court deems just under C.R.S. 14-10-113. The IRS lists nine community property states, and Colorado is not among them.
Does Colorado split property 50/50 in a divorce?
Not automatically. The statute has no equal-division presumption; the court divides marital property in proportions it deems just after considering all relevant factors.
Is an inheritance divided in a Colorado divorce?
The inheritance itself is not marital property, but any increase in its value during the marriage is treated as marital property.
Is property owned before marriage divided in Colorado?
The asset stays separate, but to the extent its present value exceeds its value at the marriage it is treated as marital property.
When is property valued in a Colorado divorce?
As of the date of the decree or of the hearing on disposition of property, if that hearing comes first.