Splitting Personal Property in a Colorado Divorce | Episode 81

Dividing Personal Property in a Colorado Divorce

In this short Divorce at Altitude lesson, Colorado family law attorney Ryan Kalamaya explains how personal property (the “stuff” inside the home) is typically handled in a Colorado divorce—and why fighting over household items often costs more than the items are worth.

Using the podcast’s hypothetical clients Eric and Melanie Wolf, Ryan walks through the common questions that come up right after separation: What happens to the skis, the phones, the furniture, the mountain bike, and everything else in the house? The key takeaway: most divorce lawyers encourage an in-kind division whenever possible—meaning each spouse keeps comparable items rather than spending attorney time arguing over small value differences.

Ryan also highlights a reality that surprises many clients: courts and lawyers often value personal property using a “garage sale” or resale price, not what you paid new. Because most items depreciate quickly, spouses frequently overestimate what personal property is worth—and that misunderstanding can fuel unnecessary conflict.

The episode outlines practical ways couples can divide property efficiently, including using photos, lists, and spreadsheets, and waiting until the right point in the case to finalize the split. For higher-value property—like a wine collection, art, or collectibles—Ryan explains that a personal property appraiser may be needed. If spouses still can’t agree, options include property arbitrators (who oversee the move-out process) or a pick-and-choose system (sometimes even decided by a coin flip) to keep the process fair and moving forward.

Episode Outline

What Counts as Personal Property in a Colorado Divorce
Examples: furniture, electronics, sports gear, household items, collections.

Why In-Kind Division Usually Makes Sense
Avoiding expensive fights over low-value items.

How Courts Value Personal Property
Why “garage sale” value often matters more than purchase price.

Practical Tools for Dividing Property
Photos, inventories, spreadsheets, and staged agreements.

When an Appraiser Is Necessary
Wine collections, artwork, collectibles, and other higher-value items.

If You Can’t Agree: Alternative Solutions
Arbitrators, structured picking systems, and other fair tie-breakers.

What is Divorce at Altitude?

Ryan Kalamaya and Amy Goscha provide tips and recommendations on issues related to divorce, separation, and co-parenting in Colorado. Ryan and Amy are the founding partners of an innovative and ambitious law firm, Kalamaya | Goscha, that pushes the boundaries to discover new frontiers in family law, personal injuries, and criminal defense in Colorado.

To subscribe to Divorce at Altitude, click here and select your favorite podcast player. To subscribe to Kalamaya | Goscha's YouTube channel where many of the episodes will be posted as videos, click here. If you have additional questions or would like to speak to one of our attorneys, give us a call at 970-429-5784 or email us at info@kalamaya.law.

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DISCLAIMER: THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS ON THIS PODCAST IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL ADVICE. CONTACT AN ATTORNEY IN YOUR STATE OR AREA TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE ON ANY OF THESE ISSUES.

Transcript

Ryan Kalamaya (1s):
Welcome to Divorce at Altitude, a podcast on Colorado family law. I'm Ryan Kalamaya each week, along with my business partner and cohost Amy Gosha or an expert, we discuss a particular topic related divorce or co parenting in Colorado. In addition, we have created a short series of lessons that will take you through the legal process of divorce and answer your questions from simple to complex divorce. Isn't easy. The end of a marriage, especially when children are involved, brings a great deal of loss and change. We hope these practical tips and insights will help you On your journey to a new and better life.

Ryan Kalamaya (43s):
This episode is about personal property and how it is divided and addressed in a color or a divorce. Now, if we go back to our Eric Wolf hypothetical divorce story, you'll recall that after Melanie informs him, that she's hired a divorce lawyer, he leaves and he goes skiing and he sits on the chair lift and he looks at his iPhone and has a series of questions. One of those questions is what happens with the house. Undoubtedly, he's also going to think about what happens with all the stuff in that house, the iPhone, the skis that he looks down on from the top of the chairlift and he, the furniture in the house that his personal property. So how is it divided?

Ryan Kalamaya (1m 23s):
Well, most divorce lawyers will advise their clients that it's best to address that on an in-kind basis. So an example of an in-kind division or in kind basis is Eric and Melanie both may have iPhones. Now there may be a difference between an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 12, but it doesn't make sense to pay divorced lawyers, hundreds of dollars an hour, to argue about the difference in the value between Eric and Melanie's I-phones. And furthermore, if Eric has a very expensive, nice mountain bike, that might be worth as much as the couch and the bed that is at Melanie's house or the marital house, and oftentimes people overestimate the value of the personal property.

Ryan Kalamaya (2m 10s):
So they will think back to how much they paid when in reality, most divorce lawyers and judges, most importantly, will look at personal property in value it based on a garage sale price. So think about all the things that are in a divorce, and it may be your divorce and the personal property and having a big yard sale and how much that would yield for each particular item. Probably not as much as you were hoping. So it makes sense, even if you can't agree on the color of the sky to go through and figure out who gets what you can use spreadsheets, you can also take pictures of things as you or the other person moves out of the house.

Ryan Kalamaya (2m 52s):
And you can address that at the conclusion or at some point when it makes sense. And ultimately it may come to that. You can't reach an agreement. So what happens in that circumstance, and that may be because there could be a wine collection that could be a substantial enough where you need to have some Lea or someone that is a personal property. Appraiser come to value. The various personal property at issue could be an art collection. There could be a whole host of different personal property items that are worth arguing over, and you can go to court on those other things. There's also people that will serve as personal property arbitrators they'll show up when the U haul truck comes and they'll figure out who gets what I've also seen it, where there's a coin flip and each person gets to pick based on a coin flip and someone would go first.

Ryan Kalamaya (3m 45s):
So Eric would decide that he values his mountain bike, Melanie. On the other hand, she might value that couch that they bought just six months ago. So on and so forth, there are a whole host of different options, but that hopefully gives you an idea of how Eric and Melanie, or you may be dealing with personal property in the Colorado divorce. Thanks for listening or watching this short lesson on the Divorce at Altitude podcast. If you found this helpful, please leave a review or share with a friend. It does help for others that are going through or thinking about a divorce in Colorado. If you want to find out more information, please visit Kalamaya dot law or Divorce at Altitude dot com.

Ryan Kalamaya (4m 26s):
That's K a L a M a Y a.law. Remember, this is educational information. It's not intended to be legal advice. Please consult with an attorney about particulars of your case. We're happy to answer questions. Feel free to give us a call at nine seven three one five two three six five.