The house.
Cost basis, the exclusion that halves when you file single, and what a buyout actually does to both.
Divorce Settlement Assessment
Before you sign, understand the wealth implications of your divorce.
A settlement divides more than assets. It changes how those assets are taxed, what they're actually worth to you, and what you can do with them afterward.
This 3-minute assessment walks through the wealth questions worth answering while the terms are still being written.
Free. Confidential. No obligation. 14 questions, no financial account details requested.
What the assessment looks at
Retirement accounts.
How they're divided, in what sequence, and why an even split by balance often isn't even by value.
Support.
How it's taxed now versus before 2019, and what documentation it needs to be useful to you later.
What follows you.
Joint obligations, health coverage, and beneficiary designations that a decree doesn't touch.
Why this comes from a wealth firm, not a law firm
Your attorney is handling the legal terms. The wealth and tax consequences of those terms sit outside what a family law practice does, and they're often where the largest numbers are.
Heirloom Wealth runs wealth management and tax under one roof. That's unusual, and it matters here specifically: understanding what a settlement is worth after tax takes both, and most advisors only have one.
Fiduciary. Fee-based. Serving Colorado from Greenwood Village.
An illustrative example, not a client outcome.
One assumption. About $15,000.
A couple bought a home together. In the divorce, one spouse buys out the other's half at fair market value and keeps the house, then sells it ten years later.
They assume their cost basis includes what they just paid for their spouse's half. It doesn't. Under IRC Section 1041, that transfer is treated as a gift no matter how much money changed hands, so the old basis carries over.
| What they assumed | What actually applies | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis, their own half | $150,000 | $150,000 |
| Basis, the half they bought | $250,000 | $150,000 |
| Total basis | $400,000 | $300,000 |
| Gain on an $800,000 sale | $400,000 | $500,000 |
| Exclusion, filing single | ($250,000) | ($250,000) |
| Taxable gain | $150,000 | $250,000 |
At a 15% long-term capital gains rate, that's roughly $22,500 versus $37,500.
It could have been planned around before the settlement was signed. Afterward, it couldn't.
14 questions. About 3 minutes.
No cost, no obligation, and we don't ask for account numbers or balances.