Colorado Custody Laws & Parenting Plans

Colorado does not use the terms "custody" or "visitation." Instead, the state uses allocation of parental responsibilities (APR) to describe how parents share decision-making authority and physical time with their children after a divorce or separation. Understanding this framework—and how to build a parenting plan that satisfies Colorado courts—is one of the most important steps in any family case involving minor children.

Whether you are filing for divorce in Colorado or navigating a standalone parentage action, the court requires a written parenting plan before it will enter final orders. This guide walks you through every element the court expects, from the statutory best-interest factors to the practical mechanics of filling out Form JDF 1113.

What Is Allocation of Parental Responsibilities?

Under C.R.S. § 14-10-124, allocation of parental responsibilities encompasses two distinct components:

• Decision-making responsibility: Authority over major life decisions for the child, including education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and extracurricular activities
• Parenting time: The physical schedule that determines when the child resides with each parent, measured in overnights per year

These two components are allocated independently. For example, parents might share decision-making equally while one parent has primary physical care. Colorado courts generally favor joint decision-making when parents can cooperate, and the General Assembly has declared that "frequent and continuing contact" with both parents is presumptively in a child's best interest.

Best Interests of the Child: The Governing Standard

Every parenting order in Colorado must serve the child's best interests. C.R.S. § 14-10-124 lists the statutory factors the court evaluates:

Factors for Parenting Time

• The wishes of the child's parents as to parenting time
• The wishes of the child, if the child is sufficiently mature to express a reasoned preference
• The interaction and interrelationship of the child with parents, siblings, and other significant persons
• The child's adjustment to home, school, and community
• The mental and physical health of all individuals involved
• Each parent's ability to encourage the sharing of love, affection, and contact between the child and the other parent
• Whether past parental involvement reflects a system of values, time commitment, and mutual support
• The physical proximity of the parties to each other
• Each parent's ability to place the child's needs ahead of their own
• Any credible evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect

Factors for Decision-Making

When allocating decision-making responsibilities, courts also consider the parties' ability to cooperate and make joint decisions, and whether mutual decision-making will promote more frequent and meaningful contact between the child and each parent. The court cannot presume that either parent is better suited based on sex alone.

The Colorado Parenting Plan: Form JDF 1113

Form JDF 1113 is the official Colorado parenting plan. The court will not enter final orders in any case involving minor children without a signed parenting plan. The form was most recently revised in December 2025 and covers 10 pages of required provisions.

Required Components

A complete Colorado parenting plan must address the following:

• Decision-making allocation: Joint or sole authority for education, healthcare, religious training, and extracurricular activities
• Parenting time schedule: A specific calendar of overnights for regular weeks, holidays, school breaks, summer, and special occasions
• Transportation arrangements: Who transports the child and where exchanges occur
• Communication protocols: How parents and children will communicate during the other parent's time, including phone, video, and text
• Dispute resolution: A process for resolving future disagreements (mediation is the most common)
• Relocation provisions: Notice requirements if either parent plans to move
• Healthcare provider information: Contact details for all children's healthcare providers, which must be shared with the other parent
• Tax dependency: Which parent claims each child as a dependent (if not agreed, Colorado law assigns based on contributions)

Parties can indicate on the form whether they agree on all terms, agree on some terms, or cannot agree at all. If parents cannot reach consensus, each files a separate proposed plan and the court decides.

Types of Parenting Time Arrangements

Colorado law recognizes different categories of parenting time based on overnight counts, which directly affect child support calculations:

• Primary physical care (273+ overnights): One parent has the child for at least 273 nights per year. Child support uses Worksheet A (JDF 1820).
• Shared physical care (93+ overnights each): Each parent has the child for at least 93 nights. Child support uses Worksheet B (JDF 1821) with a 1.5x multiplier to account for duplicated household costs.
• Split care: When each parent has primary care of at least one child. Separate obligations are computed and offset.

The 93-overnight threshold is significant because crossing it changes the entire child support calculation. For a parent with 92 overnights, adding just one more night shifts from Worksheet A to Worksheet B and may substantially change the support amount.

See how overnights affect your Colorado child support obligation:

Common Parenting Time Schedules

While Colorado courts do not mandate a default schedule, several arrangements appear frequently in parenting plans:

• Alternating weeks (50/50): Each parent has the child for one full week, then the other parent has the next. This yields approximately 182 overnights each and qualifies as shared care.
• 2-2-3 rotation (50/50): Parent A has Monday–Tuesday, Parent B has Wednesday–Thursday, and weekends alternate Friday through Sunday. This keeps school-week transitions consistent while splitting time equally.
• Every-other-weekend plus midweek (roughly 80/145 split): The child lives primarily with one parent but spends every other weekend and one weeknight dinner with the other parent. This falls below 93 overnights and uses Worksheet A.
• 5-2-2-5 (50/50): Parent A always has Monday and Tuesday, Parent B always has Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday through Sunday alternates. Yields equal time with fixed weekday routines.

The right schedule depends on the child's age, school location, each parent's work schedule, and the physical proximity of the two households. Courts favor arrangements that provide stability and minimize transitions for younger children.

How Parenting Time Affects Child Support

Colorado uses the Income Shares model under C.R.S. § 14-10-115, which bases child support on both parents' combined adjusted gross incomes and the amount of parenting time each parent exercises. Key financial connections include:

• Shared care multiplier: When each parent has 93+ overnights, the basic child support obligation is multiplied by 1.5 to reflect duplicated household costs before being allocated between parents
• Add-on expenses: Work-related childcare, children's health insurance premiums, and extraordinary medical expenses exceeding $250 per child per year are shared proportionally by income
• Income cap: The combined monthly adjusted gross income schedule runs to $30,000; above that, courts have discretion

Understanding this connection is critical because your parenting time arrangement directly determines which worksheet applies and how much support transfers between households.

Court Process for Contested Parenting Cases

When parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, Colorado provides several mechanisms to reach resolution:

Mandatory Mediation

Most Colorado judicial districts require mediation before a contested permanent orders hearing. Mediation is conducted through the court's Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR) or private mediators. Reduced-fee options are available through the ODR program using Form JDF 211. Exceptions exist for cases involving documented domestic violence.

Child and Family Investigators

In highly contested cases, the court may appoint a Child and Family Investigator (CFI) under C.R.S. § 14-10-116.5 or a Parental Responsibility Evaluator (PRE) under C.R.S. § 14-10-127. These professionals interview both parents, observe parent-child interactions, review records, and submit a written report with recommendations to the court. CFI costs are typically split between the parties.

Temporary Orders

Either parent can seek temporary orders for parenting time and decision-making while the case is pending. Temporary orders do not prejudge the final outcome and terminate at the decree unless continued for good cause. They are particularly important for establishing stability during the divorce timeline.

Parenting Education Requirements

Colorado law authorizes courts to require parenting education classes under C.R.S. § 14-10-123.7. Many judicial districts mandate attendance for all parties with minor children. For example, the 17th Judicial District (Adams and Broomfield counties) requires all parties to attend court-approved parenting classes, and the 4th Judicial District (El Paso County, including Colorado Springs) requires Level 1 parenting classes in all domestic cases involving children.

These courses cover co-parenting communication, the impact of divorce on children at different developmental stages, and strategies for reducing parental conflict. Most are available online and must be completed before final orders.

Automatic Temporary Injunction

Upon filing or service of a divorce petition, an Automatic Temporary Injunction (ATI) immediately binds both parties under C.R.S. § 14-10-107. For parents, the most critical provision is that neither parent may remove minor children from Colorado without written consent of the other parent or a court order. The ATI also prohibits transferring or hiding marital property and canceling insurance coverage.

Modifying a Parenting Plan

After final orders are entered, parenting time can be modified under C.R.S. § 14-10-129 if there has been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances that makes modification in the child's best interest. The standard is intentionally high to protect children from constant schedule changes.

Decision-making responsibility has an even stricter modification threshold under C.R.S. § 14-10-131. The requesting parent must show that the current arrangement endangers the child's physical health or significantly impairs emotional development, or that a change has occurred in the child's circumstances or the parties' relationship that warrants a new allocation.

For child support modifications, a recalculation resulting in less than a 10% change is presumed not substantial. Only installments accruing after the modification motion is filed can be changed—no retroactive decreases are permitted.

Changes Coming in 2026

HB25-1159, signed May 31, 2025, takes effect March 1, 2026 and makes significant changes to how parenting time interacts with child support:

• 93-overnight threshold eliminated: Every overnight will count toward the parenting-time credit, not just those exceeding 92
• 1.5x multiplier removed: The shared-care multiplier disappears in favor of a single unified worksheet
• Single worksheet: Replaces the current dual Worksheet A/Worksheet B system
• Income cap increased: From $30,000 to $40,000 combined monthly adjusted gross income

Until March 1, 2026, the current rules with the 93-overnight threshold and 1.5x multiplier remain controlling law. If you are negotiating a parenting plan now, consider how these upcoming changes may affect your child support arrangement.

Key Takeaways

• Colorado uses "allocation of parental responsibilities"—not custody—covering both decision-making and parenting time
• Every case with minor children requires a parenting plan (Form JDF 1113) addressing decision-making, parenting time, communication, and dispute resolution
• The best-interest standard governs all decisions under C.R.S. § 14-10-124, with 10+ statutory factors
• 93 overnights is the shared-care threshold that triggers Worksheet B and the 1.5x child support multiplier (until March 2026)
• Mediation is typically required before contested parenting hearings
• Courts may appoint CFIs or PREs to investigate and recommend parenting arrangements
• Parenting education classes are required in many judicial districts
• The ATI prohibits removing children from Colorado without consent or court order
• Modification requires substantial and continuing change in circumstances