Moving and Child Custody (Colorado)

Relocating Children after Divorce

One of the most tragic situations any parent may ever face occurs when their ex-spouse relocates and wants it involves moving child custody out of Colorado. Relocating children after divorce, when combined with the effects of the divorce itself, can be truly devastating to the non-custodial parent and, sometimes, to the child.

However, the Colorado legislature has recently amended the law to make it more difficult for custodial parents to move with a child when the non-custodial parent remains in Colorado. The new law will replace a previous Colorado Supreme Court decision, which in most cases gave custodial parents a presumptive right to move with their children if certain conditions were met, unless the non-custodial parent could prove endangerment. Effective September 1, 2001, the new law will determine whether the request for moving the child is in the best interests of the minor child. This is a far more difficult legal standard to meet.

New Colorado Child Relocation Legislation

There was a tremendous amount of debate and controversy before the removal legislation was enacted. Opponents of the bill argued that, with current economic conditions, parents should be free to move the child when a new job opportunity offered them better economic opportunities in other states and, in some cases, other countries. However, father’s rights groups and others were able to persuade legislators that such concerns were outweighed by the value of keeping families as geographically intact as possible. In fact, the final version of the bill signed by Governor Owens will apply not only to out of state moves, but also to major child relocations within the State of Colorado.

The Family Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association actively supported the new removal bill. If you have any questions about moving child custody or relocating children after divorce you should definitely consult with an experienced family law attorney. Moving child custody and relocating children after divorce

Parenting Time (Colorado Law)

VISITATION OR “PARENTING TIME”

“Parenting time” refers to how time with the children will be divided between divorced parents. This term replaced the term, “visitation”, which is now no longer officially used in the Colorado divorce statutes. Courts usually designate parenting time for one parent, and the other parent as the “primary care parent”, or “the parent with whom the children reside the majority of the time”. This designation can be important in determining significant parenting issues, such as whether a parent can permanently leave the state with the children.

In divorce, a court will approve most parenting time plans, so long as the parents agree and the court formally finds the parenting plan to be in the children’s best interests. If there is no agreement, the court will decide how parenting time will be divided, based on this best interests standard.

The statute that addresses children’s best interest states: “The general assembly finds and declares that it is in the best interest of all parties to encourage frequent and continuing contact between each parent and the minor children of the marriage after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage.” Because the Legislature wants “frequent and continuing contact between each parent and the minor children,” judges often award considerable parenting time to non-custodial parents, even if that parent has had less contact with the children in the past. Many judges want to give non-custodial parents an opportunity to reestablish or enhance their parental relationships, even where they have failed to do so previously. This can be very frustrating to a parent who has provided all or most of the parental care, especially since the law also clearly states that parenting time will not be affected by lack of child support payments, which may also be an issue with formerly absent parents.

The amount of parenting time awarded by the court to the non-custodial parent might be affected by many factors. One is the child’s age. Children under about two-and-one-half years old will likely have few, if any, overnights with a non-custodial parent. Judges generally prefer shorter, more frequent parenting time, for younger children. Once a child reaches school age, courts often prefer he or she spend all school nights in one place; thus weekends, holidays and summers become important parenting time opportunities. Because judges do not like to give all free time to one parent, every-other weekend arrangements are common. Dividing holidays also allows both parents to alternately enjoy them with their children. When a parent lives out of state, summers may be used to make up for parenting time that might otherwise occur during the school year.

There is no age in Colorado at which a minor child may decide his or her own parenting time; however, the more mature the child, the more credence a judge will give the child’s wishes. In a parenting time dispute, the court may appoint a special advocate, who is an attorney or mental health professional, to interview the parties, children, and others, to recommend a parenting time plan to the court.

It is important that you carefully consider the long-term ramifications of any parenting plan that you enter into. You should, where necessary, consult with a skilled therapist and attorney, in order to review your options. There should be built-in provisions to enforce the agreement, as well as to modify the agreement. After all, the children’s well being must be the central focus in any well crafted parenting plan.

Colorado Child Support Laws (overview)

COLORADO CHILD SUPPORT

Colorado child support is considered a right of the child and both parents have a duty to provide child support until the child is emancipated. Child support is calculated pursuant to a formula called the “Child Support Guidelines”. The guidelines are based on what the family would have spent for the child’s care had the parties not separated. Some of the factors considered in a support calculation include: the gross income of both parents and the child (if any), the age and needs of the child, and the child’s number of overnight visits with each parent.

In 2002 the Colorado State Legislature passed a new law, SB 21, which raised the Colorado child support guideline limits and also created new provisions for lower income earners. The child support laws in Colorado became effective on January 1, 2003. Some highlights of the law include the following:

1. There is a “low income adjustment” which applies to a party with the fewest number of overnights and an adjusted monthly income less than $1,850. This party’s share of the total obligation is calculated pursuant to a new mathematical formula.
2. There is a new “very low income adjustment” for cases where the party ordered to pay support has less than $850 adjusted monthly income. The minimum monthly obligation in these cases is limited to $50.
3. Extraordinary medical expenses now includes co-payments and deductible amounts that exceed a combined $250 per child per year.
4. The Federal Child Care Credit has changed from 35% to 20% for annual incomes, which are scaled up to more than $43k (formerly $28k).