The home where you live probably holds a lot of memories from your marriage. It also represents a lot of the income you and your spouse have earned over the years. Not only will you have paid a substantial amount of your income toward your mortgage each month, but you’ve likely also invested in upgrades and improvements to the house that have increased its value.
Your home may be a priority in your upcoming divorce, given how much it’s worth and how much it means to you. Answering a few questions will help you better predict who will keep the house in your Colorado divorce.
Is the house marital property?
Under Colorado’s equitable distribution statute, marital income and assets are subject to division. If you bought the house together or paid the mortgage with income from during your marriage, then you probably have a strong claim for the house being marital property.
However, if one spouse owned it before marriage or inherited it, it may be separate property that the other spouse has no claim to in the divorce.
Can either of you afford the house on your own?
Many couples finance more of a house than they could afford without two incomes. If you can’t qualify for a mortgage on your own, you probably won’t be able to keep the house in the divorce. If your spouse could potentially continue paying the mortgage even after withdrawing equity to reimburse you for your interest in the property, then they might have a stronger claim to the house.
Do you have young children?
Sometimes, child custody and child support will influence what happens with your house in a divorce. If it would be hard for the children to stay in the same school district otherwise, a judge may give possession of the house to the parent with more parenting time.
Thinking about your circumstances and your priorities can help you adopt a pragmatic approach to the property division process in a Colorado divorce.