Legal Question in Family Law in Colorado

Re: Quitclaimdeed

Thank you for posting your question to LawGuru.com. My name is Alex White and I am an associate with The Harris Law Firm, P.C. We frequently draft quitclaim deeds for individuals but you may also be able to purchase forms of that nature at the library. However, the question that comes to my mind is why you are asking your spouse to quitclaim property to you? Many people incorrectly believe that if they get their spouse to quitclaim property to them, the property is no longer considered marital. Regardless of the title in which property is named, property is marital if it is acquired during the marriage. Even if acquired prior to the marriage, a property's increase in value during the marriage is marital property.

I hope that this information is helpful to you. If you would like our assistance, please contact us directly if you would like to set up an appointment. Again, thank you for posting your question on LawGuru.com.

Regards,

Alexandra M. White, Esq.

Re: Quitclaimdeed

The simple answer is you complete a quitclaim deed form available online - try the real estate commision web-site and "approved forms". These are simple fill in the blank forms but make absolutley sure you have an accurate legal description. For the car the transferor needs to sign the title certificate - back of the certificate - take it to the DMV in your county.

However, if the proposed transactions are pursuant to dissolution of marriage or legal separation it matters what stage of the proceedings you are in if there are any proceedings. The property is likely marital property under the UDMA in CO and how it is titled is not determinative. Thus, your proposed conveyances will not render it separate property for purposes of dissolution of marriage or legal separation even if titled in your name only.

With few exceptions any property acquired during the marriage is marital property. Any increase in value of separate property is marital property. Separate property in general is anything acquired prior to marriage, by gift or inheritance, in exchange for gifted or inherited property and property acquired after the dissolution of marriage is final.

Courts divide marital property in Colorado "fairly and equitably" (note this does not mean "equal") in a dissolution of marriage matter and they take into consideration several factors including: contribution of parties,age and health of the parties, duration of the marriage, income sources and standard of living during the marriage.