No, inheritance is not considered marital property in Colorado. Colorado statutory section C.R.S. 14-10-113 deals with the division of marital property in a Colorado divorce. Subsection 2(a) specifically indicates that property received by gift or inheritance is not marital. In light of this, inherited property is not subject division by the court and is not considered “marital property.” Property not considered “marital” is considered “separate” in nature. While this is the general rule, statute and case law also support the notion that any increase to separate property during the marriage is marital in nature and up for grabs in your divorce.
Of course, property comes in many forms and how any increase in value is divided can depend on the nature of the property. Firstly, a court cannot make someone hand over the property they received in the initial inheritance. If someone inherits a home or other tangible asset, the court cannot make them sell that asset or give it to their spouse. In such an instance, the court could award the spouse a monetary equivalent of their share of the increase, or perhaps offset their share with other marital property.