Custody Matters

Colorado generally does not use the term custody, but rather allocation of parental responsibilities. Parental responsibilities issues can arise in divorces or actions for the allocation of parental responsibilities when the parties are not married. In some circumstances, parties who are not biological parents such as grandparents or step-parents may also be able to assert rights, whether they be grandparent visitation rights or full allocation of parental responsibilities as a “psychological parent”.

Absent compelling reasons why, our courts generally want both parents to be actively involved in their children’s lives if possible. The court will look at allocating decision making authority (the right of each parent to have a say in the major decisions affecting their children such as education) and parenting time (the amount and type and quality of time each parent has with the children) between the parents.

Closely related to this are determinations of child support. Child support is determined on a complex calculation which takes into account the relative income of the parents, their contributions to insurance for the children, child care expenses, and the number of overnights each parent has with the children. When the non-majority time parent has 93 overnights or more with the children over a calendar year, child support obligations alter. Therefore the time each parent spends with the children impacts support obligations.

It is important to know and understand your rights regarding your children. The decisions you make when determining custody will affect you and your children potentially for the rest of their lives. Rikeman Law is dedicated to providing effective and zealous advocacy to parents (or parties) facing custody and child support actions. Contact Rikeman Law to schedule a free hour long consultation to discuss your rights.

Rikeman Law also requests that you do not bring the children that are the subject of a case to any consultations as this can be viewed negatively by the Court in future proceedings.