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Divorce: Can You Keep the House in Colorado?

Brian Lee Burke

Jan 20, 2025 • 4 min read

Divorce: Can You Keep the House in Colorado?

Can you keep the house in a Colorado divorce?

Yes, if one spouse can buy out the other spouse’s share of the equity and qualify for the mortgage alone. Those two numbers decide it, more than the wish to stay. This guide walks through how a buyout works in Colorado, what a lender looks at, and what to do if the numbers do not work. It is written by REALTOR® Brian Lee Burke and our team of real estate agents at The Kenna Group at Keller Williams DTC. Brian leads our divorce home-sale work and founded Colorado Divorce Decisions, a free resource site. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers.

Real estate and divorce in Colorado · Denver divorce Realtors · What is the house worth?

Short answer

What does it take to keep the house?

Three things: an agreed value for the house, enough cash or equity to pay the other spouse their share, and a new loan (or a lender-approved assumption) in your name alone. A quitclaim deed takes a name off the title but not off the mortgage; only a refinance, an approved assumption with a release, or a sale does that.

The three ways the house goes in a divorce

Option	How it works	What has to be true
Keep it (buyout)	One spouse pays the other their share of the equity, usually through a cash-out refinance, and keeps the house.	You qualify for the new loan alone, and the payment fits your income after the divorce.
Sell it now	The house is listed, the loan is paid off at closing, and the proceeds are split as the decree says.	Both spouses sign the listing and the sale, or the court orders the sale.
Keep it for a set time, then sell	Both stay on the loan until a date or event in the decree, then the house is sold or refinanced.	Both trust the other to pay on time; both credit reports carry the loan until it ends.

Colorado divides marital property by equitable distribution (C.R.S. 14-10-113): fair, which is not always 50/50. The court can enter a decree no sooner than 91 days after the petition is served. Your attorney or mediator explains how that applies to you.

The buyout math, in round numbers

Example only. Your value, payoff, costs and split come from your own documents and decree.

On a $600,000 house with a $360,000 payoff, the equity is $240,000. If the decree splits it evenly, the spouse who stays owes $120,000. A cash-out refinance to $480,000 pays off the old loan and the $120,000, before closing costs. Two questions decide whether that works: does the new payment on $480,000 fit one income, and does the lender count the support payments in the decree?

Many loan programs count alimony or child support only when it is in the decree, has been received for a period, and will continue for at least three more years. Ask a lender before you sign the settlement, not after.

Agree on the value first

Most fights over the house are fights over the number. We prepare one Smart Pricing Report and send it to both spouses at the same time: comparable sales, three prices and the time frame for each. It is not an appraisal; if your attorney needs one for court, a licensed appraiser does it. Brian has sold homes in Colorado since 2003 and spent 25 years in construction, so the report also lists the repairs a buyer or an appraiser will notice.

If keeping the house does not work, the next step is a sale both spouses can live with. Read divorce and real estate with Brian Burke and our divorce real estate services in Colorado, then buying a house after divorce.

What to watch out for

A quitclaim deed does not take your name off the mortgage. Only a refinance, an approved assumption with a release, or a sale does.
Do not stop paying the mortgage during the divorce. Late payments hurt both credit reports and the refinance.
Get a lender's answer on qualifying before you agree to keep the house in the settlement.
Count the costs of keeping it: taxes, insurance, HOA and repairs on one income.
Ask a tax professional about capital gains before you sell or transfer the house.

Keeping the house in a divorce: questions

Can I keep the house if my name is on the mortgage with my spouse?

Yes, if you refinance into your own name, or the lender approves an assumption and releases your spouse. Otherwise both stay liable.

Who gets the house in a Colorado divorce?

There is no automatic rule. Colorado divides marital property equitably under C.R.S. 14-10-113; the decree or your agreement decides.

How is the house valued in a divorce?

By agreement, an appraisal, or both. A Smart Pricing Report from us gives both spouses the same comparable sales and three prices.

Can I keep the house and buy out my spouse without refinancing?

Only if the lender allows an assumption with a release of liability, or you pay the buyout from other assets and both stay on the loan.

How long does a Colorado divorce take?

The court can enter the decree no sooner than 91 days after service; many take longer.

Do you give legal advice?

No. We are real estate agents. Your attorney or mediator handles the decree and the property division.

Divorce and the house: more guides

Questions about the house? Ask privately.

One call, no pressure, and everything you tell us stays private. A live person answers.

Call 303-955-4220 Text The Kenna Group

Talk to us about the house

Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Everything you tell us stays private.

The Kenna Group is a real estate group with Keller Williams Realty DTC, LLC (Keller Williams DTC), 6300 S Syracuse Way, Suite 150, Centennial, CO 80111, formerly known as Kenna Real Estate Group, serving Denver metro home buyers and sellers.

Disclaimer: REALTOR® Brian Lee Burke and our team of real estate agents are not attorneys, accountants or loan officers, and nothing here is legal, tax or lending advice. Property division, the decree and tax questions belong with your divorce attorney or mediator and a tax professional; loan approval comes from a licensed lender. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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WRITTEN BY

Brian Lee Burke

Team Leader and Licensed Broker, REALTOR® since 2003, Author

Brian Lee Burke is the founder and team leader of The Kenna Group, a real estate group at Keller Williams DTC. A licensed REALTOR® since 2003, Brian helps Colorado buyers and sellers navigate residential real estate, new construction, pricing, and negotiation. He is also the author of The Real Estate Playbook and Mastering Real Estate: Your Guide to Becoming a Top Agent.

View Brian Lee Burke’s full profile.

WRITTEN BY

Brian Lee Burke

Team Leader and Licensed Broker, REALTOR® since 2003, Author

View Brian Lee Burke’s full profile.

Divorce: Can You Keep the House in Colorado?

Can you keep the house in a Colorado divorce?

What does it take to keep the house?

The three ways the house goes in a divorce

The buyout math, in round numbers

Agree on the value first

What to watch out for

Keeping the house in a divorce: questions

Divorce and the house: more guides

Questions about the house? Ask privately.

Talk to us about the house

Ask about keeping or selling the house

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