Colorado's most-asked family law question, answered straight: how parenting time and decision-making actually get decided — and how to put your kids (and your case) in the strongest position.
Charles E. Liken Jr., Esq. — On Colorado's Legal Front Lines Since 1995 · Government Investigator, Denver Human Services (1997–2003) · Licensed Colorado Attorney Since 2003 ~ 20+ Years in Private Practice · Colorado Deputy District Attorney (2018–2020) · Colorado Court-Appointed Child and Family Investigator
Colorado doesn't award “custody” anymore — it allocates parental responsibilities: parenting time (the schedule) and decision-making (education, health, and more). Here's what actually moves the needle.
Judges work through the best-interests factors in §14-10-124, C.R.S. — each parent's relationship with the child, ability to put the child's needs first, history of caregiving, the child's adjustment to home and school, and each parent's willingness to foster the child's relationship with the other parent.
Where LLF comes in: We build your case factor by factor — with the documentation judges actually credit, not character speeches.
There's no legal presumption of equal time in Colorado, but courts strongly favor frequent, continuing contact with both fit parents, and near-equal schedules are routine when logistics support them.
Where LLF comes in: We design schedules that fit real life — work shifts, school zones, distance — so your proposal reads as the practical one.
Exchanges, holidays, vacation, phone/video contact, decision-making, dispute resolution — a vague plan is a future lawsuit. The court adopts a plan (JDF 1113) either by your agreement or its own order.
Where LLF comes in: We draft plans tight enough to prevent the fights — clear exchanges, decision rules, and dispute-resolution steps built in.
In contested cases the court may appoint a Child & Family Investigator (CFI) or Parental Responsibilities Evaluator (PRE) to investigate and recommend. Their reports carry heavy weight.
Where LLF comes in: Charles is a trained Child & Family Investigator himself — he knows exactly what CFIs look for, because he's done the looking.
Withheld parenting time has a fast remedy (a verified JDF 1418 motion, make-up time, fees) — and true endangerment supports emergency restriction motions.
Where LLF comes in: We move quickly on both sides of these: enforcing your time, or defending against restriction motions built on spin.
Ready when you are — talk it through with Charles.
Your choice: no-charge 20-minute phone call OR in-depth hour ($300) — both directly with Charles.
No presumption of 50/50 exists in Colorado law, but courts favor frequent and continuing contact with both parents, and equal or near-equal schedules are commonly ordered when practical.
There is no magic age in Colorado. The child's wishes are one best-interests factor, weighted by the child's maturity — they never control the outcome by themselves.
Restricting parenting time requires showing the child is endangered physically or emotionally — a high bar. Disliking the other parent's rules or new partner is not enough.
Yes. Allocation of parental responsibilities uses the same best-interests standard; parentage is simply established first if it's not already legal.
Judges care about patterns, not moments: who takes the kids to the dentist, who the school calls, who keeps the other parent informed. They discount one-off incidents, and they notice — negatively — a parent who bad-mouths the other or plays gatekeeper.
The status quo matters. The schedule that exists while your case is pending has a way of becoming permanent, so the worst move is walking out impulsively and “letting things settle later.” Get advice before you change the living arrangement, not after.
Custody between never-married parents runs through the same APR process and the same best-interests factors — parentage (paternity) just gets established first. Our forms library has the complete APR packet.
Twenty minutes with the team now beats twenty billable hours untangling it later.