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Colorado is an equitable distribution state: During divorce, marital assets will not be automatically equally divided between you and your soon-to-be former spouse. Instead, the court will divide the assets based on its determination of what is fair and equitable between the parties. For marriages with larger or more complex financial affairs, however, fair doesn’t mean easy to resolve.
Some elements that may complicate the dissolution of marital assets include:
- Pre- or postnuptial agreements
- Co-owned businesses
- Family-owned businesses
- Interests in Family Trusts
- Former spouses with maintenance orders
- Child support for children outside the marriage
- Multiple retirement accounts or pensions
- Active or former military service payments and pensions
- Determining income when a party is self-employed
- A party’s income under Colorado law for purposes of maintenance and/or child support may or may not be the same as determining income under IRS guidelines
We Can Address Complex Issues In Any Divorce
In divorce proceedings, the focus is typically on getting property from the other spouse. However, in more complex divorces, you may want to get the counsel of attorneys and financial advisers to plan for tax issues, debt liabilities, the tax consequences of the property allocated to each party, and other related concerns. Current cash on hand may be just one small piece of the puzzle, but there could be issues with carry-forwards, net losses and so forth. Perhaps you were counting on a specific deduction for a business purchase but only one of you can claim it next year. You may decide that the deduction is worth more to you than the car, and if so you would need to negotiate accordingly.
Complex divorces don’t just change the substance of the proceedings – they can also affect the procedures you use. You may consider mediation or other avenues to attend to details that are too involved to work out in an open courtroom.
Even in more straightforward proceedings, courts require pay stubs, bank statements and similar documentation before dividing assets. However, in more complex, larger estates, forensic accountants may be needed to ensure that property and business valuations and expenses are legitimate, that there are no unaccounted-for funds and that money was not hidden in other ways.
Call Our Colorado High-Net Worth Divorce Lawyers Today
Our team will not rush through your divorce for the sake of getting it done. We will be meticulous and create a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis so that you can make informed decisions. We want you to walk away with what you are entitled to receive in a divorce, but we also want to ensure you understand where there may be opportunities for negotiation. Request an evaluation to discuss your high-asset divorce today by calling (303) 797-2900 or sending us an email.