Graham.Law Blog

Back in 2019, we wrote about the Blaine case, where the Colorado Court of Appeals held that one spouse conveying property to the other using an Interspousal Transfer Deed turned that property into the other spouses’ separate property Today, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed the decision, holding that unless one…

What is a High Income or High Asset Divorce? High asset & high income divorces have issues which attorneys and clients alike may not necessarily think about in a “normal” divorce case. And as we explain below, cases involving affluent clients differ from other cases from the very start, both…

It is unusual for the Colorado Court of Appeals to issue two different decisions in the same case, in the same year, on completely different issues. But that’s what happened to the Coplins. This new case concerns how to handle an account value increase, while back in March 2020, the…

Basic Asset Division in a Colorado Divorce In contrast to Community Property states where marital property must be divided equally, Colorado is a “marital property” state, and our statute requires that marital assets and debts be divided “equitably” (i.e. fairly), not necessarily equally. Most of the time, however, equal means…

Dividing property in a Colorado divorce case can be a grueling part of an already emotional ordeal.  Adding personal injury claims or settlements can only complicate the process, especially if the settlement is large (even if not a “fortune”). And it’s also an emotional issue – after all, one spouse…

Workers Compensation & Property Division Any property acquired during a marriage is presumed to be marital property subject to division, even if it is only in one spouse’s name, with limited exception.  The court can determine that certain property is premarital or is separate property not subject to division. Spouses…

Retirement Must Be Divided As Property In a Colorado Divorce Retirement is property, and if earned during the marriage, the pension is part of the marital estate to be divided upon dissolution of marriage per . It’s easy to conceptualize the division in the case of IRAs, 401(k)s and other defined contribution pensions which…

First Comes Property, Then Comes Alimony Which came first, the chicken or the egg? In the context of a Colorado divorce case, the question might be rephrased as “which comes first, property or alimony?” And the answer, per statute, is spousal maintenance (aka “alimony”). Under Colorado’s maintenance statute, one of…

Marital Property Includes Separate Property Increase in Value In a Colorado dissolution of marriage, an asset owned by a spouse prior to marriage remains the property of that spouse (per (2)). But that does not increase a separate property increase in value. Only the principal amount brought into the marriage…

Frozen Embryos at Divorce – a Balancing Test It was inevitable that litigation would follow. In 2018, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a ruling on the disposition of frozen embryos in a Colorado divorce when the parties’ agreement with the fertility clinic does not address divorce. Rooks.1 Rather than adopting a…