Marriage of Roberts, 24CA0373

Patricia Roberts (wife) and Aaron Ray Roberts (husband) married in 2010; their marriage was dissolved in 2024 with permanent orders entered regarding property division and maintenance.
The court excluded a Texas property (Danvers) from the marital estate, finding it had been sold by the couple to wife’s parents in 2012, though title and mortgage remained in wife's name.
The court divided marital assets nearly equally but allocated the majority of marital debt—including approximately $214,000 in student loans incurred by husband—entirely to husband.
Wife was awarded $800 per month in maintenance for nearly seven years; this amount deviated downward from guidelines due to husband's debt burden.
Husband appealed the characterization of Danvers, the allocation of debts, and the maintenance award. Wife requested appellate attorney fees.

Issue	Husband's Argument	Wife's Argument	Held
Exclusion of Danvers	Danvers was marital property, or at least its appreciated value should have been included; 2017 agreement was unenforceable	Danvers was sold to wife's parents; wife had no interest at dissolution	Danvers properly excluded; husband had no enforceable interest
Allocation of Student Loans	Contradictory to allocate all loans to husband but base maintenance on his higher post-degree income	Loans benefit husband long-term; maintenance accounts for income but is offset by husband's debt	Reasonable to allocate loans to husband and award moderate maintenance
Maintenance Award	Court abused discretion and failed to consider husband's debt and increased expenses	Court considered all factors and husband’s financial circumstances	Maintenance award appropriate and sufficiently explained
Appellate Attorney Fees	Not addressed on appeal	Sought fees for allegedly unjustified appeal	Fees under § 13-17-102 denied; remanded for possible award under § 14-10-119

In re Marriage of Balanson, 25 P.3d 28 (Colo. 2001) (standard for reviewing abuse of discretion in dissolution cases)
Nelson v. Elway, 908 P.2d 102 (Colo. 1995) (enforceability of oral contracts under part performance doctrine)
In re Marriage of Faulkner, 652 P.2d 572 (Colo. 1982) (allocation of debts considering future earning capacity)