Parenting Time and Decision-Making in Colorado

What Colorado Means When People Say Custody

Since 1999, Colorado law has not used the word custody. The legal term is the allocation of parental responsibilities, and it has two separate parts.

• Parenting time is the schedule. It covers where your child sleeps on school nights, weekends, holidays, and summer break, and how exchanges between homes happen.
• Decision-making responsibility is the authority to make major choices for your child, such as education, medical care, religious upbringing, and significant extracurricular activities. A court can allocate these decisions jointly to both parents, to one parent alone, or split them topic by topic.

These two pieces are decided independently. A parent can share equal decision-making without an equal time schedule, and the reverse is also true. Colorado law starts from a clear public policy, stated in C.R.S. 14-10-124(1): children generally do best with frequent and continuing contact with both parents, and with both parents sharing the work of raising them, so long as that contact is safe. There is no presumption in favor of mothers or fathers.

The Best Interests Factors Under C.R.S. 14-10-124

Judges do not follow a formula. They weigh a list of factors set out in C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.5), and every factor points back to the child, not to what either parent wants or deserves. For parenting time, the court considers all relevant factors, including:

• Each parent's wishes for the schedule.
• The child's own wishes, if the child is mature enough to express reasoned and independent preferences. There is no set age in the statute.
• The child's relationships with each parent, with siblings, and with anyone else who significantly affects the child's life.
• The child's adjustment to home, school, and community.
• The mental and physical health of everyone involved. A disability alone cannot be the reason to deny or limit parenting time.
• Each parent's ability to encourage the child's love and contact with the other parent.
• Each parent's past pattern of involvement with the child, looking at values, time, and mutual support.
• How far apart the parents live, since distance shapes what schedules are realistic.
• Each parent's ability to put the child's needs ahead of that parent's own needs.

Extra factors for decision-making

When the court decides whether parents will share major decisions, it also looks at credible evidence of the parents' ability to cooperate and decide things jointly, whether their history with the child shows they can function as mutual decision makers, and whether joint decision-making would promote more frequent and continuing contact between the child and both parents.

When domestic violence is part of the case

Safety comes first. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not, that domestic violence occurred, the court must make the child's and the abused party's safety its primary concern. In that situation the court cannot order joint decision-making over the objection of the other parent unless credible evidence shows the parents can cooperate safely. Courts can also build protections into the schedule, such as supervised parenting time or structured exchanges. A 2023 Colorado law, House Bill 23-1178, added training requirements on domestic violence and child abuse for judges, evaluators, and other court professionals who work on these cases.

Parenting Plans: The Document That Runs Daily Life

A parenting plan is the written roadmap for your family after the case ends. Under C.R.S. 14-10-124(7), each parent may submit a proposed plan. If the parents agree, the court usually approves their plan. If they do not agree, or the court does not approve what was submitted, the judge formulates a plan for them. Most families are far better served by writing their own.

A strong plan is specific, because specific plans prevent future arguments. Common terms include:

• The regular weekly schedule, plus holidays, school breaks, and vacations.
• Where and when exchanges happen, and who drives.
• How parents communicate about the child, and how the child communicates with the parent who is not present.
• How major decisions get made, and what happens when parents disagree, such as mediation before returning to court.
• Rules for travel and for notifying the other parent about important events.

One practical note. The number of overnights in the schedule is also an input in Colorado's child support formula, so the parenting plan and support are connected.

CFI and PRE Evaluations, Explained Simply

When parents strongly disagree about what is best for a child, the court can appoint a neutral professional to investigate and make recommendations. Colorado uses two main types.

Child and Family Investigator (CFI)

A CFI is appointed under C.R.S. 14-10-116.5 to investigate specific questions the court defines, such as what schedule fits a young child. The CFI typically interviews both parents, meets the child, contacts references, and files a written report with recommendations. CFIs are governed by a Chief Justice Directive that caps their fees. As of this writing, the presumptive cap for the investigation and report is $3,250 per appointment, and a court must approve anything beyond the capped amounts.

Parental Responsibilities Evaluator (PRE)

A PRE is appointed under C.R.S. 14-10-127 and must be a licensed mental health professional. A PRE evaluation goes deeper than a CFI investigation and can include psychological testing. There is no presumptive fee cap, so PRE evaluations generally cost more and take longer. Courts tend to reserve them for complex cases involving mental health, substance use, or abuse allegations.

With either professional, the report is a recommendation, not a ruling. The judge makes the final decision, and parents can challenge a report they believe is wrong.

How We Approach Parenting Cases

We practice family law in Colorado, and parenting disputes are some of the most personal work we do. We focus on two things at once, protecting your relationship with your child and building a plan your family can actually live with. That usually means preparing your case around the best interests factors from day one, whether it resolves by agreement or needs a hearing.

If you are facing a parenting time or decision-making dispute, we are ready to talk it through with you. Reach out and we will help you understand where your case stands and what your options look like.