As you start the divorce process, you’ll begin looking at your marital property and how you want to divide it. In Colorado, it’s required that your marital property is divided equitably, which doesn’t necessarily mean evenly. As a result, if you’re an artist, you should be cautious to fight for your artwork.
Any artwork that you make during your marriage may be considered marital property. If you sell it, it has value, and that means that any work you have could have a potential to become income in the future. Your spouse might argue that they are entitled to a portion of those proceeds.
How can you decide on the value of your artwork, if any?
When you look at the value of your artwork, one thing to consider is how much you’ve been able to sell it for in the past and if there is a potential to sell in the future. For many people, their artwork is only sentimental. However, if you are an artist with a business, it’s extremely important for you to know how much your art is worth and to have an appraisal performed.
With an appraisal, it’s easier to know how much your spouse may ask for, if anything, because of your work’s value. You and your spouse may get two appraisals that disagree with one another. If that happens, you could opt to add them and get an average, or you could go with the lowest or highest values given.
Your attorney can help you if you are faced with the possibility of losing your artwork in divorce. This could be disruptive to you as an artist, so it’s best to look into all your options.