Colorado's New Abuse-and-Custody Law (HB26-1309): What Changed for Parenting Cases

On May 27, 2026, Colorado enacted House Bill 26-1309, “Abuse in Cases of Separation.” The act, sponsored by Representatives Froelich and Story and Senator Wallace, rewrites how family courts must treat claims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault when they decide who makes decisions for a child and how parenting time is structured. The Legislative Council’s final fiscal note records the signing and effective date as May 27, 2026. Here is what the enrolled text says, and what it leaves to the judge.

What the act changes

• One broader definition of domestic violence (C.R.S. § 14-10-103). It lists physical assault or bodily harm, or threats of either, against the other parent or a family or household member, including a child; damage to their property; assault or harm to an animal belonging to them; stalking; sexual assault; coercive control; economic abuse; and human trafficking — “whether or not the conduct constitutes a criminal offense.” Behavior a parent uses to protect themselves, a family member, a child or property from the other parent’s harm is not domestic violence.
• Findings on the record (§ 14-10-124). When a party is accused of domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or a sexual assault that resulted in conception, the court may consider any relevant and admissible evidence — including testimony from the parties, experts, therapists, the department of human services, parenting-time supervisors and school personnel — and must make findings on the record, by a preponderance of the evidence, on whether it happened.
• Limits on mutual decision-making. If the court finds that a party committed one of those acts, it is not in the child’s best interests to allocate mutual decision-making over the objection of the other parent or the child’s legal representative unless the court makes specific findings that mutual decision-making can occur without coercion, intimidation, retaliation, or risk of harm to the abused party or the child. The court may not appoint a parenting coordinator solely to make mutual decision-making work.
• Safety conditions on parenting time. After such a finding the court must treat the safety and well-being of the child and the abused party as the primary concern and must impose conditions that protect them. The statute lists options that include limiting contact between the parents, exchanges in a protected setting, supervised parenting time, restricted overnights, limits on alcohol and other substances during parenting time and for 24 hours before it, a confidential address, and child-support payments through the registry so the parents need no contact. The court may order a domestic-violence evaluation and any recommended treatment at that party’s sole expense, may ask the treatment provider for progress reports, and must consider whether to prohibit or restrict parenting time. A parent who is absent from the home or leaves because of abuse cannot have that counted against them in the best-interests analysis.
• Orders to repair a child’s relationship with a parent (§ 14-10-127.5). When a court orders steps to remediate a child’s resistance to contact with a parent it has found to have committed domestic violence or child abuse, the order must address that parent’s behavior. That parent must show genuine accountability, sustained behavioral change that addresses underlying patterns of power and control, and compliance with the court’s treatment order. Treatment must be with a licensed mental-health professional who holds a master’s or doctoral degree and has specialized training in treating survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence and child abuse; programs that are not in real time, are self-directed, or are anger-management courses do not qualify. This replaces the earlier requirement that a professional approved by the domestic violence offender management board verify the parent’s behavior.
• Related changes. Before appointing a parenting coordinator, the court may now consider a finding (no longer a mere claim) or documented evidence of domestic violence (§ 14-10-128.1(2)(b)). In relocation-driven modifications of parenting time, domestic violence is a factor and must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence (§ 14-10-129). The same definition now governs the six-year civil limitations period for domestic-violence claims (§ 13-80-103.6), and a cross-reference in § 8-13.3-503 was updated to match.

What the act does not say

The legislature’s findings declare it necessary to presume that a parent who has committed domestic violence should not be allocated parental responsibilities. That is a statement of purpose. The operative amendments to § 14-10-124 are narrower and more specific: they require findings, restrict mutual decision-making over an objection unless specific findings are made, and direct the court to impose safety conditions. How individual judges apply the new language will develop case by case, so read the enrolled text itself rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

Why a “preponderance” finding matters

Preponderance of the evidence means more likely than not — the ordinary civil standard, lower than the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Under the new text a family court makes this finding on the record whether or not any criminal charge was ever filed. That puts the evidence each side gathers and presents at the center of these cases.

If you are a parent who has experienced abuse

Your safety comes before any court strategy. If you are in danger, call 911; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. Our Safety & Victim Resources, protection orders and Address Confidentiality Program pages explain the tools that sit around a custody case. In the case itself, what the court can weigh is evidence: police reports, medical and counseling records, photographs, messages, and witnesses. Keeping a dated record and preserving messages before they disappear are habits worth starting early.

If you have been accused

An accusation is not a finding. Under the new text the court decides, on the record and by a preponderance of the evidence. If it finds that abuse occurred, the statute lists the kinds of conditions it may impose and, for a parent ordered into treatment, the provider qualifications now written into the statute. Respond through the court rather than through contact with the other parent, and speak with a lawyer early. Criminal exposure is a separate question; see our domestic violence defense page.

Read the sources yourself

• HB26-1309 on the Colorado General Assembly site — status, summary as enacted, and every version.
• The enrolled act (Final Act, May 21, 2026) — the full text this article is based on.
• The Legislative Council’s final fiscal note — records that the bill was signed and took effect May 27, 2026.

Wondering how this applies to a case you are in, or about to be in? A consultation is a good place to start. For the road a parenting case follows from filing to final orders, see The Colorado Custody Case Timeline.