Barbie and Ken Break Up… Who Gets the Dreamhouse?

When Barbie and Ken were together, the Dreamhouse symbolized perfection. After the breakup? It’s just a very expensive asset with a mortgage. Everyone has opinions. Barbie picked the pink decor. Ken paid for the hot tub. Barbie needs stability. Ken moved out first. So, if the Dreamhouse were in Colorado, what would happen? 

When relationships end, houses stop being emotional symbols and becomes a (oftentimes the largest) financial asset. In Colorado family law, the Dreamhouse is divided based on statutes, equity, and practicality.

When a marriage or relationship ends, a shared home ceases to be a sentimental symbol and becomes purely a financial asset. In Colorado family law, the division of the marital residence (often a "Dreamhouse") is determined by equity and statute.

Under C.R.S. § 14-10-113, A home is typically classified as marital property if it meets one of two conditions:

• It was acquired at any point during the marriage.

• It was acquired before the marriage, but during the marriage, marital funds or effort were used for mortgage payments, improvements, or to contribute to the property's appreciation.

Courts look at each spouse’s contribution to the home including financial (down payment and mortgage) and non-financial (homemaking and maintenance). Even if the home started out as separate property, any appreciation during the marriage is typically marital. 

Simply put, if Barbie purchased the Dreamhouse prior to the marriage, it is generally considered her separate property at the outset. However, any appreciation in the home's value that occurs during the marriage (Ken buys a hot tub, builds a roller rink, etc.) will typically be classified as marital property and subject to division.

In Colorado, marital property is subject to equitable distribution upon divorce. This principle mandates that assets be divided in a way that is deemed "fair" or "equitable," which does not automatically mean an equal, 50/50 split. 

Also, Colorado courts do not consider "marital fault" when determining the division of property. "Marital fault" refers to misconduct that may have contributed to the divorce, such as infidelity, deceit, or abuse. While these issues may be relevant in other ways, they are excluded from the court's considerations in dividing the marital estate. Likewise, Colorado is not a desertion state, this means that if a spouse leaves the marital home they do not give up rights to marital property.

There are typically two outcomes regarding the marital home:

1. One party keeps the house

2. They refinance (or assume the loan) into their own name

3. They buy out the other party’s equity

4. The house is sold

5. Often the cleanest option

6. Especially common when neither party can refinance

7. Proceeds of sale can be divided equitably between spouses

The Dreamhouse is not about who won the breakup. In Colorado, it’s about what is reasonable and equitable… even if that means saying goodbye to the pink pool or walk-in closets.

Creating a Parenting Plan

Co-parenting after a divorce or a break-up does not need to be chaotic and complicated. A well-crafted parenting plan gives your children consistency and provides both parents with a roadmap for the future. When written effectively, a Parenting Plan can help reduce conflict and allow parties to co-parent (or parallel parent) effectively. Although Parenting Plans cannot account for everything that comes up and often change as children get older, it is important to think about the future, so you do not have to constantly re-write your parenting plan every few months or years.

What is a Parenting Plan?

A Parenting Plan is a legally binding document that outlines how parenting time will be split, how decisions for your children will be made, and how your child will be financially supported that is filed into a divorce or custody case and becomes an enforceable court order.

Key Parts to Include in a Parenting Plan

1. Parenting Time

   1. Weekly parenting time schedule

   2. How exchanges and transportation will occur

   3. Holidays and Vacations

   4. School Breaks

   5. Telephone/video contact with the other parent

2. Decision-Making Responsibilities 

   1. Education

   2. Medical, dental, orthodontic and vision decisions

   3. Mental health

   4. Religion

   5. Extracurricular activities

3. Communication

   1. How will communication between the parents typically occur (text, email, parenting application)

   2. How will communication occur for emergencies

   3. How will extracurricular activity schedules and important events be shared (example- shared calendar)

   4. How will communication with the children occur

4. Dispute Resolution- how you will resolve future issues when there is a disagreement

   1. Mediation

   2. Arbitration

   3. Parenting Coordinator

   4. Decision Maker

5. Child Support

   1. Monthly child support amount

   2. Who will cover the cost of health, dental, and vision insurance for the children

   3. How will uninsured medical expenses be shared

   4. How will educational expenses be shared

   5. How will mutually-agreed upon extracurricular expenses be shared

How to Create a Successful Parenting Plan

1. Be Specific

It is important to be specific in a Parenting Plan. For example, it is a good idea to include exact exchange times and locations for all pick-ups and drop-offs. Also, it is important to include major holidays that you and your family want to celebrate. Many parents alternate major holidays based on even/odd years; however, this does not work for all families. Another area that we often see conflict is how to handle snow/sick days. Make sure to clearly address this in a parenting plan, so there is less conflict when these days occur.  It is okay to make minor deviations from the Parenting Plan if both parties agree to do so in writing but you should have specifics to fall back on when there is a disagreement.

2. Keep the Children’s Best Interest in Mind

Remember that a parenting plan is about your children, so it must focus on your children’s best interests. Perhaps you like a week/on, week-off schedule; however, your children do better when they see both parents every few days. It is important that you step back and consider what is best for our children versus focusing on what works best for your schedule.

3. Plan for Growth

As we know, children grow FAST! With this in mind, you want to plan for your children growing in your parenting plan. Some tips include building in age-based schedule adjustments or stepped-up parenting time schedules for young children and/or a transition plan for teens. For young children, we often find that continuing and frequent contact with both parents works well for many young children; however, many teenagers do not do well with constant transitions and might do better with a week-on/week-off schedule. 

Consider events that seem far away, including when/if children will get cell phones and their driver’s license. How will car insurance be split and how with their car be paid for? These are often big areas where we see disagreements, so it is often helpful to start thinking about these ahead of time. 

Another area to plan for is to account for flexibility for after-school activities and school demands. As children get older, their schedules often get busier, so it is important to account for days that they have activities and remain flexible when these changes occur.

Tips for Reducing Conflict

1. Keep communication in writing and professional

Many parents find that it helps to keep all communication with the other parent in writing, except for emergencies. Also, many parents benefit from using a co-parenting app, such as Talking Parents or OurFamilyWizard. Keep in mind that most communication can be used in Court, so it is helpful to pretend that a judicial officer is reading the message before you send it to the other parent. All communication should be short and professional to help encourage a positive co-parenting relationship.  See our previous blog post on creating healthy communication boundaries.

2. Avoid using the children as messengers

It is important that parents not rely on their children to communicate messages to the other parent. This can be stressful for children and put them in the middle of a situation. Similarly, speaking negatively about the other parent to the children or within their presence is often detrimental to your child’s well-being. Any issues should be addressed directly with the other parent. 

3. Be flexible when life happens

It is important that you remain flexible. Life happens and co-parenting is not always a linear path. With this in mind, if the other parent is continuously trying to deviate from the parenting plan, it may be helpful to speak with an attorney about helping to enforce the parenting plan.

4. Schedule a time every year or so for you and the other parent to meet/discuss any changes that might need to be made to the current parenting plan 

It is important to have an open dialogue with the other parent and address issues that no longer work in your parenting plan. As children grow, parenting plans often have to grow with the child. Scheduling a time every year to address this, can be helpful for many parents.  This is not recommended, however, in cases where there is domestic violence, including coercive control.

If you would like assistance in crafting a Parenting Plan, we are here to help!

Why Both Spouses Should be on the Title of a Marital Home in Colorado

If you are married in Colorado and your name is not on the title or mortgage of your home, you are taking a serious risk -- one that could cost you your largest asset without warning. This is because when only one spouse is listed on the title and the mortgage of the marital home, only that person will receive notice if the marital home is being foreclosed upon. 

Here is an example of why that can be problematic: Let’s say Husband is the only spouse listed on the title and mortgage of the marital home. If Husband stops paying the mortgage and allows the home to foreclose, Wife will never receive any notice. This is because in Colorado, foreclosure notices have to be sent to people with a recorded legal interest in the property -- which would include the borrower on the mortgage, and the people on the recorded title or deed. See C.R.C.P. 120. However, there is no legal duty for a lender to notify parties that do not have a recorded interest in the property being foreclosed. Whether you are a spouse to a person who has a recorded legal interest is irrelevant, despite the fact that you may have marital interest in the property; you are not entitled to notice if your name is not listed on deed or loan. 

Why is notice important? If your spouse allows the marital home to foreclose, you likely will not know what is happening until the home is already sold. Once the foreclosure sale goes through, you will completely lose any right or claim to your marital home -- even if the home would have been considered marital property. It does not matter if you have the ability to remedy or cure the foreclosure -- once the home is sold, the time has passed in which you can address this situation. 

Will an automatic temporary injunction from divorce proceedings prevent the foreclosure sale? Not necessarily. The automatic temporary injunction in Colorado divorce cases is designed to keep spouses from selling, transferring, or concealing marital property during divorce, per C.R.S.§ 14-10-107(4)(b)(1)(A). However, the temporary injunction does not prevent third parties from enforcing their rights. A mortgage lender is not bound by the temporary injunction as they are not a party to the divorce proceedings, and is free to foreclose on a home that is failing to pay the mortgage.  While allowing the home to be foreclosed upon is a violation by the spouse, once it happens, that asset is gone.

What can I do if I am not currently on the title of my marital home? Thankfully, having your interest in the marital home recorded is a relatively quick and easy process. You will need to have your spouse who is currently on the title sign a quitclaim deed titling the home to both of you. A quitclaim deed will legally record your interest in the marital home, which will require lenders to notify you if they are foreclosing on the home.  After notarization, the quitclaim deed will need to be turned into the Clerk and Recorder’s office in the county that the home is located in. Congratulations -- your interest in the marital home is now legally protected!

If you are married and your name is not on the title of your marital home, it is worth taking the steps and secure your property rights. Taking these steps now could be the difference between keeping your share of the marital home and possibly losing one of your largest assets forever.