How children will be raised and shared between their parents is often a major concern for Colorado residents who choose to go through divorce. In Colorado courts are involved in the process of ensuring that the divorce litigants understand their parental responsibilities, otherwise understood as their custodial rights, during and after their marriages have ended.
The responsibilities that divorced parents have toward their kids are the same as those that married parents must meet in order to provide the necessary support for their children – physical custodianship and legal decision-making. However, after a divorce one parent may find that they lack physical custodial or legal decision-making rights if a court decides that it is in the best interests of the child to do so. Parents often share legal responsibilities toward their kids after divorce but if there is a reason to deny a parent physical custodial rights then such an outcome may occur.
A parent may lose their rights to physical custodianship of their kids if there is a history of physical, sexual or emotional abuse in the family. One parent may have sole physical custodial responsibility if it is not feasible for the children to split time with the parents, such as if one parent lives out of state or is otherwise incapable of providing the children with a stable home.
Children can have a say in how their custodial matters are resolved and Colorado courts have some discretion in whether to allow a child to offer input regarding their preferences toward their parents’ post-divorce responsibilities. As matters related to custody and parental responsibilities are decided based on the facts of specific cases it is imperative the readers of this post discuss their concerns with their legal representatives for case-specific advice.
