JDF 1113: Parenting Plan

Statutes

• C.R.S. § 14-10-124 — Best Interests of the Child

  The court allocates parental responsibilities, including parenting time and decision-making, in accordance with the best interests of the child, giving paramount consideration to the child's safety and physical, mental, and emotional conditions and needs, and must consider all relevant factors, including the parents' wishes, the wishes of a sufficiently mature child, the child's relationships, adjustment to home, school, and community, the mental and physical health of all involved, each party's ability to encourage the child's contact with the other party, the past pattern of involvement, physical proximity, and each party's ability to put the child's needs ahead of their own. The court may restrict parenting time only if it finds, after a hearing, that parenting time would endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development; it may not consider conduct that does not affect a party's relationship to the child, and may not presume a person is better able to serve the child's interests because of that person's sex. Under HB 26-1309 (effective May 27, 2026), the court must make findings by a preponderance of the evidence whether a party committed domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault that resulted in conception of a child; if so, the safety and well-being of the child and abused party is the primary concern, the court must impose parenting time conditions that ensure their safety, and mutual decision-making over the other party's objection is not in the child's best interests unless the court specifically finds it can occur without coercion, intimidation, retaliation, or risk of harm. A party's actions to protect the child from witnessing domestic violence or from abuse or neglect are not counted against that party on the encourage-contact factor. This findings duty arises when evidence of domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault resulting in conception is submitted by a party, a child and family investigator, a parental responsibilities evaluator, or the child's legal representative. If a party is absent or leaves home because of the other party's domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault resulting in conception, that absence is not a factor against them (§ 14-10-124(1.6)(d)), and the court must consider whether to prohibit or restrict the offending party's parenting time (§ 14-10-124(1.6)(c)). When the court orders unsupervised parenting time despite information or a child's accusation of domestic violence, child abuse, child sexual abuse, child emotional abuse, or coercive control, it must state on the record why unsupervised time is in the child's best interests (§ 14-10-124(9)).

• C.R.S. § 14-10-129 — Modification of Parenting Time

  The court may make or modify a parenting time order whenever it would serve the best interests of the child, but may not restrict a parent's parenting time unless it finds the parenting time would endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development. A modification that substantially changes parenting time and also changes the party with whom the child resides a majority of the time requires facts arising since (or unknown at) the prior decree showing a change in circumstances and that the modification is necessary to serve the child's best interests, and the court must retain the prior schedule unless the parties agree, the child has been integrated into the moving party's family with consent, the majority-time parent intends to relocate, or the child's present environment endangers the child and the advantage of a change outweighs the harm. A majority-time parent intending to relocate in a way that substantially changes the child's geographical ties to the other party must give written notice as soon as practicable of the intent, the new location, the reason, and a proposed revised parenting time plan; the hearing gets docket priority, and the court weighs all relevant factors, including domestic violence proven by a preponderance of the evidence whether before or after the prior decree, the section 14-10-124(1.5)(a) factors, and nine relocation factors such as the reasons for and against the move, educational opportunities, extended family, the impact of the move, and whether a reasonable parenting time schedule can be fashioned. After a motion for a substantial modification that changes the majority-time parent, no new such motion may be filed for two years unless affidavits show the child's present environment may endanger the child or the majority-time parent intends such a relocation. The rule that parenting time may not be restricted without an endangerment finding does not apply when the majority-time parent intends a relocation that substantially changes the child's geographical ties to the other party (§ 14-10-129(1)(b)(II)), and any order restricting parenting time must state the specific factual findings supporting it. A motion alleging the child is in imminent physical or emotional danger must be heard and ruled on within 14 days of filing, and any parenting time during that period must be supervised (§ 14-10-129(4)).

• C.R.S. § 14-10-131 — Modification of Custody or Decision-Making Responsibility

  After a motion to modify a custody decree or decision-making allocation is filed, whether or not it was granted, no further motion may be filed within two years after disposition unless the court decides, on affidavits, that there is reason to believe continuing the prior order may endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development. The court may modify decision-making responsibility only if, based on facts that arose since the prior decree or were unknown to the court at that time, a change has occurred in the circumstances of the child or the party allocated decision-making and the modification is necessary to serve the child's best interests. Even then, the court must retain the prior allocation unless the parties agree; the child has been integrated into the petitioner's family with the other party's consent and that warrants modification; a parenting time modification under section 14-10-129 warrants it; a party has consistently consented to the other party making decisions that party was to make individually or the parties were to make mutually; or retaining the allocation would endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development and the harm of a change is outweighed by its advantage.