By Attorney Charles E. Liken Jr., Colorado court-appointed Child and Family Investigator. A new job, a new partner, family back home — and a parenting order that doesn't move with you. What Colorado law requires before anyone relocates with the kids.
Charles E. Liken Jr., Esq. — On the Legal Front Lines · Former Government Investigator, Denver Human Services · Licensed Colorado Attorney · 20+ Years in Private Practice · Former Colorado Deputy District Attorney · Colorado Court-Appointed Child and Family Investigator
Move-away cases are often among the hardest fights in family law — one parent's opportunity is the other's lost Tuesdays. And be realistic: the law may start with no formal presumption, but a child's roots are a head start. A ten-year-old who has spent every year of life in Colorado — school, friends, grandparents, teams — is a powerful argument for staying put, and judges know it. The moving parent needs a concrete, child-centered case, not just a better job offer.
A majority-time parent intending to relocate must give the other parent written notice as soon as practicable: the new location, the reasons, and a proposed revised parenting plan. Springing a move on the other parent poisons the case.
Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: We draft notice that satisfies the statute and starts the negotiation on your terms — or respond to notice before the boxes get packed.
Under Ciesluk, Colorado courts give no presumption to either parent in post-decree relocation. The moving parent doesn't have to prove the move is necessary; the staying parent doesn't get a veto. The child's best interests decide.
Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: We build the factor-by-factor record — reasons for and against, family networks, schools, economics, and a workable long-distance schedule.
During the initial case, the court accepts where each parent intends to live and allocates parenting accordingly. After the decree, changing the child's geography requires the full relocation analysis. Timing your case matters.
Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: If a move is realistically coming, we position it honestly from the start rather than litigating it twice.
“Relocation” means a move that substantially changes the geographical ties between child and parent — Longmont to Loveland is a logistics conversation; Longmont to Phoenix is a case.
Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: We separate the moves that need a motion from the ones that need a calendar adjustment — before positions harden.
Relocating the children without agreement or court order invites emergency return orders, contempt, and a lasting credibility wound that follows you through every future hearing.
Where The Longmont Law Firm comes in: If the other parent already left with the kids, we move immediately — jurisdiction and speed are critical.
Ready when you are — talk it through with Attorney Liken.
Start here: a no-charge 20-minute phone call directly with Attorney Liken.
A court order sets or changes the parenting schedule. A parent who has the children most of the time and intends to relocate must give the other parent written notice as soon as practicable with the new location, the reasons, and a proposed parenting plan; if the parents disagree, the court decides based on the child's best interests.
No. Colorado law gives no presumption for or against relocation post-decree — the moving parent need not prove the move is necessary, and the other parent gets no automatic veto.
Act immediately: courts can order the children returned, modify parenting time, and impose contempt sanctions — and delay damages your position.
Colorado measures it functionally: a move that substantially changes the geographical ties between the child and the other parent triggers the relocation framework, whatever the mileage.
Strong relocation cases are built on specifics: the actual job offer with numbers, the actual school with enrollment data, the actual house, the actual flight schedule and cost for parenting time, the actual extended family on the ground. Vague better-life claims carry little weight.
Opposing a move isn't about punishing ambition — it's about the child's web of relationships: coaches, cousins, school continuity, and a present, involved parent. A parent who shows up with a detailed alternative plan tends to be more persuasive than a parent who just says no.
The parents who make it work trade frequency for depth — longer uninterrupted blocks, specified travel funding, and scheduled virtual contact with teeth. We draft plans that keep the far parent a real parent.
A no-charge 20-minute call with Attorney Liken can help you sort out your next step.
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