Hello All! I'm seeking advice about finding marital property value on a home that my ex-wife purchased before the marriage. We have both lived in Colorado our whole lives and are currently in the mediation portion of the divorce.

We own 2 homes, which are now our separate primaries. The home I am in is easy to find the marital value, 50/50 of the net asset value. The home she lives in she had purchased years before our marriage. I never lived in the house as we purchased other homes throughout our marriage. It was a rental property through the 8 years of marriage. We are not agreeing on what the marital value is and it is difficult to find a formula online. We do have an appraisal near the time of our marriage in 2014, and can get one now if needed.

What makes sense to me to find the marital value is:

value X: Today's appraisal value MINUS the current loan balance = TODAYS ASSET VALUE

minus

value Y: 2014 (married) appraisal value MINUS 2014 mortgage loan balance = the HISTORICAL ASSET VALUE

Simply X (minus) Y would tell us the appreciation of the home during our marriage (marital value).

My ex is suggesting we only take the 2014 appraisal value and not subtract the 2014 mortgage loan balance to find the Y value above, but she is deducting it the same as above to find the X value, which changes the numbers drastically. This does not make sense to me as it is not comparing apples to apples.

Any guidance or suggestions is greatly appreciated. :)