Divorce finances in Colorado: a checklist for preparing and protecting your money

The first week

• Your own checking account and one credit card; route your pay there.
• Freeze Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
• Screenshots of every joint account balance, dated.
• New passwords and two-factor on your own email and logins.

The documents the court will ask for within 42 days

• Three years of tax returns with W-2s and 1099s; three months of pay stubs.
• Twelve months of bank and investment statements, joint and individual.
• Retirement statements now and, for anything opened before the wedding, one from near the wedding.
• Every debt statement with the balance and whose name is on it.
• Insurance policies and beneficiaries.
• The deed, the mortgage statement, a payoff quote, the purchase documents, and receipts for major improvements.

The house numbers

A written valuation dated now (free from us, to both spouses), the payoff, and what each of you could carry alone. Those three numbers decide the house, and the sworn financial statement wants the first two. The four options.

What not to do

• Do not empty or hide joint money. The automatic injunction forbids it once the case is filed, and the sworn statements will show it.
• Do not cancel insurance or drop your spouse from a policy.
• Do not stop paying the mortgage. It is your credit too.
• Do not sign a quitclaim deed, a listing agreement or a refinance deadline without advice.
• Do not agree to keep a house you have not been pre-approved to carry alone.

The full list, with who to call in what order: the Colorado divorce checklist.

Plain-language education from a Colorado real estate group, not legal, tax or financial advice. Numbers are as of September 2026. Disclaimer.