Colorado divorce and custody, explained.
Colorado divorce and custody, explained by Aaron Herzberg — for business owners, executives, professionals, and parents. A new article most weekday mornings, each one written from the cases and linked to the practice page it belongs with.
Colorado protects the assets you brought into the marriage — but not their growth. The increase in value of separate property during the marriage is marital, and proving the starting point is where cases are won or lost.…
Colorado has an advisory formula for spousal maintenance, but it is advisory for a reason. For higher-income couples the guideline stops applying and maintenance becomes an argument about lifestyle, earning capacity, and preparation.…
Colorado still recognizes marriage without a license — so the first fight in some cases is whether a marital estate exists at all. The Hogsett test, the evidence that decides it, and the paper that prevents it.…
A 2025 amendment lets Colorado courts weigh domestic violence, coercive control, and economic abuse when setting maintenance — beside a statute that still says "without regard to marital misconduct."…
Colorado still recognizes common law marriage — no ceremony required. For high-net-worth couples, a found marriage can put years of asset appreciation, maintenance, and inheritance rights on the table.…
A marital agreement and an estate plan written by different lawyers who never spoke will eventually contradict each other — at a divorce or at a death, the two worst possible moments.…
Bonuses not yet paid, awards not yet vested, deferred comp not yet distributable — property to divide, or income to share? For executives, the grant documents decide, and the drafting is the outcome.…
The appraiser's value for your company and the court's number for your income are built from the same cash flows. When nobody reconciles them, you pay for the same dollars twice.…
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