Do You Own Significant Properties and Assets?
If you are a person who owns considerable properties and assets, you could lose a substantial amount in a contested Colorado divorce proceeding, but an experienced Denver high-net-worth divorce lawyer will help you protect and keep what is rightfully yours.
A final divorce settlement divides property and assets and may require one spouse to pay child support and/or maintenance. If you are a high-net-worth individual, and you are divorcing or expecting to divorce, your first meeting with a Colorado high-net-worth divorce attorney may address:
- the division of assets, properties, and debts
- child support and child custody matters
- spousal maintenance (alimony)
- the valuations of any businesses or properties the couple or either partner may own
- a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement (if the couple has prepared one)
How Are a Couple’s Assets and Debts Handled in a High-Net-Worth Divorce?
For high-net-worth spouses, the most stressful part of a divorce in Colorado may be the division of the marital assets, properties, and debts. A Denver high-net-worth divorce lawyer will know how to protect your real estate, any businesses you own, and your other important assets.
Under Colorado law, property acquired in the course of a marriage, with only several exceptions, is considered marital property. Anything owned prior to the marriage is separate property. Marital property doesn’t have to be liquidated, but Colorado law requires divorcing spouses to receive assets of “equal value” – unless the spouses have voluntarily made another agreement.
A Colorado divorce requires disclosures – by both partners – which list the marital and personal assets and properties that have been acquired in the course of the marriage. A Colorado high-net-worth divorce attorney can help you ensure that your disclosures are accurate and complete.
What Are Divorcing Spouses Required to Disclose?
Colorado law requires divorcing spouses to declare their incomes, debts, and expenses to the court. Based on these disclosures, the court divides marital property, calculates child support, and decides if spousal maintenance will be paid. A financial disclosure usually includes:
- tax returns for the three years prior to the divorce
- personal financial statements for the three years prior to the divorce
- bank account information, credit card statements, and loan documents
- real estate documents
- retirement plan, investment, and insurance documents
- employment benefit information
- a list of monthly expenses
In this state, any failure to make an accurate and complete financial disclosure in a divorce proceeding can have legal consequences that may include a costly fine, and in some cases, jail time for contempt of court.
How Are Child Support and Maintenance Handled in a High-Net-Worth Divorce?
When divorcing spouses in this state can agree on child custody, child support, or spousal maintenance, a Colorado judge will usually “sign off” on that agreement. Compromise is the least expensive way to settle a child custody, child support, or spousal maintenance dispute.
When a divorcing couple cannot agree on a child custody, child support, or spousal maintenance arrangement, their lawyers will try to negotiate a settlement, but when no agreement is possible, a judge will make these decisions and issue court orders regarding spousal maintenance, child custody, and child support.
Determining a child support payment amount may not be easy. Yes, Colorado’s child support guidelines tell judges what amount should be paid. But for high-net-worth parents, the guidelines are much more complicated than they are for middle-income parents who earn regular wages. When combined gross income exceeds $240,000 annually, the statutory guidelines may not be used. The Court may instead consider the following to determine a reasonable amount for support payments. (quoted from Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14. Domestic Matters § 14-10-114):
Factors affecting the amount and term of maintenance. In any proceeding for maintenance, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to:
- (I) The financial resources of the recipient spouse, including the actual or potential income from separate or marital property or any other source and the ability of the recipient spouse to meet his or her needs independently;
- (II) The financial resources of the payor spouse, including the actual or potential income from separate or marital property or any other source and the ability of the payor spouse to meet his or her reasonable needs while paying maintenance;
- (III) The lifestyle during the marriage;
- (IV) The distribution of marital property, including whether additional marital property may be awarded to reduce or alleviate the need for maintenance;
- (V) Both parties’ income, employment, and employability, obtainable through reasonable diligence and additional training or education, if necessary, and any necessary reduction in employment due to the needs of an unemancipated child of the marriage or the circumstances of the parties;
- (VI) Whether one party has historically earned higher or lower income than the income reflected at the time of permanent orders and the duration and consistency of income from overtime or secondary employment;
- (VII) The duration of the marriage;
- (VIII) The amount of temporary maintenance and the number of months that temporary maintenance was paid to the recipient spouse;
- (IX) The age and health of the parties, including consideration of significant health-care needs or uninsured or unreimbursed health-care expenses;
- (X) Significant economic or noneconomic contribution to the marriage or to the economic, educational, or occupational advancement of a party, including but not limited to completing an education or job training, payment by one spouse of the other spouse’s separate debts, or enhancement of the other spouse’s personal or real property;
- (XI) Whether the circumstances of the parties at the time of permanent orders warrant the award of a nominal amount of maintenance in order to preserve a claim of maintenance in the future;
- (XII) Whether the maintenance is deductible for federal income tax purposes by the payor and taxable income to the recipient, and any adjustments to the amount of maintenance to equitably allocate the tax burden between the parties; and
- (XIII) Any other factor that the court deems relevant.
How Can You Protect What’s Yours?
If you are a business owner, your business must be protected. Any business operation that loses half of its value probably will not survive. However, even if you started up the business during the course of the marriage, the business will not necessarily be considered marital property.
Many Colorado couples own commercial real estate, investment properties, ranches, farmland, and vacation homes. The first problem with real estate in a divorce is determining its value, which usually fluctuates. Another concern is determining whether a property will be liquidated (and the proceeds divided) or retained by one spouse in exchange for something of equal value.
Businesses, properties, art and jewelry, and even a beloved family pet can trigger a marital property dispute. You must be represented by a Denver divorce lawyer who ensures that:
- Every asset owned by either spouse is correctly classified as marital or personal property.
- Every asset is appraised accurately.
- Your long-term best interests are effectively protected throughout the divorce process.
How Does a Settlement Offer Work?
If you are a high-net-worth individual, your Colorado divorce lawyer may suggest that you make a settlement offer in the early stages of your divorce proceeding.
If you offer your spouse a settlement, base that offer on the law and on the facts. Don’t presume that your first offer will be accepted. If you are a high-net-worth individual, you know how to assess risks, benefits, and costs, when to stand firm, and when to compromise.
In most high-net-worth divorce proceedings in Colorado, the attorneys for both sides will fully examine and investigate both spouses’ finances. You must be represented by a Denver divorce attorney who knows how to shield your assets and how to advocate effectively on your behalf.
Who Should Handle Your High-Net-Worth Divorce?
If you divorce, you must take steps to protect what is yours. The legal team at Divorce in Colorado will use every appropriate legal tool to safeguard your property and assets and protect your rights in a Colorado divorce.
The family law attorneys at Divorce in Colorado represent clients in the greater Denver area and across the state. Attorney Teddi Ann Barry leads a dedicated team of family law professionals who will make your case our priority. We represent clients who are divorcing and those who are involved in a post-divorce child custody, child support, or spousal maintenance dispute.
For your convenience, our offices are located in Denver, Boulder, and throughout Colorado. To begin the legal process now or to learn more about your rights in a Colorado divorce, call the Divorce in Colorado team at 720-966-2412 and schedule a complimentary consultation.
