Colorado property division law recognizes equitable distribution as the means a court must follow when determining how a couple may split their marital debts and assets. After the individuals to the ending marriage have agreed which items should be treated as separate or individual property, they may begin the sometimes difficult process of negotiating for the items they jointly owned. In Boulder County and the rest of the state, equitable distribution dictates that the division must be fair rather than equal.
With respect to this principle of property division, understanding the value of shared or jointly owned property can be critical to creating a fair settlement. If a party does not know how much certain assets are worth or how much liability is attached to a debt they may find that they are in a less advantageous financial situation than they thought they would be after their divorce.
Valuation is the process of determining how much money an item of property is worth. While it can be easy to establish the value of certain assets like investments or bank accounts that have verifiable monetary assessments, other items like parcels of land or jewelry may be more challenging to determine.
Experts can provide useful information on item values that can help individuals make good decisions about their property division decisions. Additionally, attorneys who provide divorce and property division services to their clients can assist those that they represent with the complex process of valuing their property.
While in some cases a piece of property’s sentimental or intrinsic value make place more importance on the item than its actual financial worth, it is up to the individuals dividing up their assets and debts to decide how much they want to fight for the items they love. Valuation is only one of the many important topics a person should understand when preparing to engage in the property division process; family law attorneys should be consulted by those who have specific questions about this and other divorce-related topics.