Q: What property am I entitled to?

A: Colorado is an equitable division state. This means that not everything is automatically divided equally. The Courts will award each of you your separate property, which is the property that you had prior to the marriage, property that you inherited, or property that you received as a gift. The Court must divide all marital property equitably. Marital property includes everything that you purchased as a married couple, regardless of how it is titled or who paid for it.

Q: If I paid the mortgage payment, is she still entitled to 50% of the equity in the marital property?

A: Your spouse will be entitled to a share of the equity, which may or may not be 50%. The Court has to consider the length of the marriage, whether or not she worked or stayed at home raising children, and how the remaining assets and debts are apportioned.

Q: Will I get stuck paying all of her bills?

A: If the bills were incurred for the benefit of the marital estate, such as living expenses, home improvements, family vacations or expenses for the kids, the bills will be considered marital and you will have to split those bills with her. If she incurred bills solely for her benefit such as expensive jewelry, cosmetic surgery, or other frivolous items, the Court MAY not require that you pay for them.

Q: If I was to get a divorce and one of the parties commited adultry would that have any effect on the division of property?

A: No, extramarital affairs are inconsequential in a divorce action as it pertains to property division. However, it could impact custody.

Q: What does the court value the salary of a homemaker? For example if I make $100K a year what do they value her salary at for the distribution? Is it like if they value it at $40K (just for example) then 4/14 (40K/140K combined) is what her portion would be of any equity, etc.? Thanx!

A: The court does not place a dollar value on a homemaker's salary. I'm not sure what you are asking but if you are inquiring about a property division, the court takes into consideration several factors such as length of the marriage, ability to support oneself once the marriage is dissolved, contribution to the assets by both spouses, etc.

Q: hi, this is for a coworker of mine. she and her husband just separated. she moved out of their apartment and moved into another. he is staying with family cause she had him arrested for domestic violence. she has taken some furniture, etc. from their apartment to place in her new apartment. can she do this? thanks, julie

A: Unless there is an order to the contrary, or if the furniture was her husband's PRIOR to the marriage, yes she can take some of the furniture to use on a temporary basis in her new apartment.

Q: Hi, my divorce was final 2 years ago and my ex has not put the credit card bills she is liable for in her name. They are still in my name and she is late every month paying them which has destroyed my credit. What can I do to get her to put them in her name? Thank you

A: If your wife is court ordered to pay the credit card bills and transfer them into her name but has failed to do so, you can file a contempt action against her for willfully failing to follow a court order. Ultimately, if she doesn't comply, she could be jailed.

Q: My ex-husband and I divorced 4 years ago. 6 years ago we purchased a time-share. In the divorce decree, it states we will share the responsibilty of the loan and yearly maintenance fees. In the past 5 months, he has not paid for his portion of the loan or the past two years of maintenance. He has stated he refuses to give me any money. Can I get his waiges garnished for these amounts?

A: You will need to get a judgment against your x-husband for the amounts that you are owed. Once you get a judgment, you can garnish his wages.

Q: I recently was divorced and they valued my 401K in actual value. I grew it in pretax dollars in the first case. I have to pay tax and penalty upon early withdrawal. Which takes it down 40% or more. I tried to withdra it so I could make a down payment on a house but found the value so low, it was rediculous. Why did they not value the IRA at the lower amount if she git the house at the equity amount? In other words... If the value of th house is $300,000 in equity and my 401k value before penalty is $400,000 why do I have to equalize at $50,000 even though the IRA (cash value)is only actually only worth about $220,000. Shouldnt the courts take the value after the penalty? or split it all equally so she has to pay half the penalty IF she withdrew it to pay fr the house.

A: NO, the courts do not take into consideration the amount of the penalty because it is not a certainty that you will cash it out early. Courts assume that the money will be drawn out at retirement without tax or penalty.

Q: I have been charged with domestic violence by the courts, however,I never slept with the person who this against. I feel like this has been miscategorized. Is there any way of reversing a charge like this?

A: Has a conviction already been entered? If not, and you were not involved in an intimate relationship with the person, it should not have been charged as a domestic violence crime. However, an intimate relationship doesn't require that you sleep with the person.

 

TOPIC: PROPERTY DIVISION

The material located on our web site is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. We are available for consultation regarding legal matters; however, the act of sending electronic mail to our firm or a specific attorney does not alone create an attorney-client relationship, and we reserve the right not to respond. Sharon D. Liko is a Sharon D. Liko, P.C. attorney and responsible for the content of this web site. Copyright © 2003 Sharon D. Liko, P.C. All rights reserved

Email us: