Colorado Child Custody Agreement

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Colorado carves your parenting terms out of the rule that would otherwise protect them. C.R.S. 14-10-112(2) makes separation agreement terms binding upon the court unless it finds the agreement unconscionable, except terms providing for the allocation of parental responsibilities, support, and parenting time of children. The property and maintenance bargain is protected up to unconscionability; the parenting bargain is protected by nothing, and the court applies the ordinary best interests test under 14-10-124(1.5) instead.

2. 2

   The court can decline your plan and write its own. Under 14-10-124(7) both parties may submit a parenting plan for the court's approval, and if none is submitted, or if the court does not approve the one that was, the court on its own motion shall formulate a parenting plan. So submission is optional in Colorado but a plan is not: one exists at the end of the case either way.

3. 3

   You cannot agree that the arrangement is final. C.R.S. 14-10-112(6) bars the parties from contracting out of future modification of decision-making responsibility or parenting time. Even a plan the court has approved and entered stays open to a later modification request, and a clause saying otherwise does not hold.

4. 4

   Colorado renamed the vocabulary without changing the underlying law. C.R.S. 14-10-103(3) changed visitation to parenting time on and after July 1, 1993, and 14-10-103(4) changed custody and related terms such as custodial and custodian to parental responsibilities on and after February 1, 1999, and both subsections say the general assembly did not intend to modify the meaning of custody or alter a custodial parent's legal rights. The word custody still appears in article 10 where it is needed, mostly for pre-1999 decrees and other bodies of law, and 14-10-131.7 tells any other state or federal statute that needs a custody designation to read the parenting plan instead.

5. 5

   The plan contents in the statute are a menu, not a checklist. C.R.S. 14-10-124(7)(a) to (f) says a parenting plan may include, but is not limited to, the type of decision-making awarded, a practical parenting time schedule covering holidays and school vacations, an exchange procedure with locations and who transports, a procedure for the parents to communicate about the child, a procedure for a parent to communicate with the child outside that parent's time, and any other orders in the child's best interests. Where parenting time issues are contested, the statute does impose a standard: the plan must be as specific as possible to clearly address the needs of the family and the current and future needs of the aging child.

6. 6

   Once the terms go into the decree they stop being a contract. C.R.S. 14-10-112(4)(a) provides that the parties shall be ordered to perform the terms set out in the decree, and 14-10-112(5) provides that those terms may be enforced by all remedies available for the enforcement of a judgment, including contempt, but are no longer enforceable as contract terms.

7. 7

   Domestic violence produces a bar on shared decision-making, not on contact. C.R.S. 14-10-124(4)(a) makes the court address abuse and domestic violence before it reaches the best interest factors, and on a preponderance finding of child abuse or neglect mutual decision-making is not in the child's best interests over the other party's objection, with no rebuttal available. On a preponderance finding of domestic violence the same bar applies unless the court finds credible evidence that the parties can make decisions cooperatively in a manner that is safe for the abused party and the child. C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.3) also defines coercive control and lists qualifying behaviors, so the screen reaches conduct that is not physical.

Colorado Requirements for Child Custody Agreement

• Parenting Terms Carved Out of the Binding Agreement Rule, C.R.S. 14-10-112(2)

  Separation agreement terms bind the court unless it finds them unconscionable, except terms allocating parental responsibilities, support, and parenting time of children. The document should not describe the parenting terms as binding on the court.

• No Waiver of Future Modification, C.R.S. 14-10-112(6)

  The parties may not contract out of future modification of decision-making responsibility or parenting time. Any clause purporting to make the arrangement permanent should be removed or expressly disclaimed.

• Enforcement After the Decree, C.R.S. 14-10-112(4)(a) and (5)

  Terms set out in the decree are performed under court order and are enforceable by all remedies available for the enforcement of a judgment, including contempt, but are no longer enforceable as contract terms.

• Parental Responsibilities and Parenting Time Terminology, C.R.S. 14-10-103(3) and (4)

  Colorado allocates parental responsibilities, comprising parenting time and decision-making responsibility, in place of custody and visitation. The document should use those terms while noting that the change of label was not intended to change the underlying meaning.

• Parenting Plan Contents, C.R.S. 14-10-124(7)(a) to (f)

  The statute lists items a plan may include: type of decision-making, a practical schedule with holidays and school vacations, exchange procedure and transportation, parent to parent communication, parent to child communication outside parenting time, and other orders in the child's best interests. The list is permissive, not a required checklist.

• Court Formulated Plan, C.R.S. 14-10-124(7)

  If no parenting plan is submitted, or the court does not approve the plan submitted, the court on its own motion shall formulate a parenting plan. Submission is optional but an approved plan is the only way the parents control the drafting.

• Best Interests Review of the Allocation, C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.5) and (1.7)

  The court allocates parental responsibilities in accordance with the best interests of the child, giving paramount consideration to the child's safety, using ten parenting time factors and three decision-making factors, and must make findings on the record in a contested final orders hearing.

• Relocation Notice, C.R.S. 14-10-129(1)(a)(II)

  A parent intending to relocate to a residence that substantially changes the child's geographical ties to the other parent must give written notice as soon as practicable, stating the intent, the intended location, the reason, and a proposed revised parenting time plan. There is no fixed notice period and no mileage threshold.

• Abuse and Domestic Violence Screen, C.R.S. 14-10-124(4)(a) and (1.3)

  The court considers four abuse and domestic violence factors before reaching the general best interest factors, and a preponderance finding bars mutual decision-making over the other party's objection, absolutely for child abuse or neglect and subject to a safety finding for domestic violence. Coercive control is separately defined.

• Custody Designation for Other Laws, C.R.S. 14-10-131.7

  Where another state or federal statute requires a designation or determination of custody, the parenting plan in the court's order identifies each party's responsibilities. A Colorado plan should be drafted so it can serve that function.