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Child Custody Parenting Time & Visitation
In every Colorado divorce, legal separation, annulment, or paternity case involving children, Colorado courts will consider the “best interests of the child” to determine Colorado child custody and visitation (the legal term in Colorado is “parenting rights and responsibilities”). In Colorado, there are several criteria that the courts use to determine parenting plans and custody arrangements. Typically, judges in Colorado order parents to share legal custody or have joint legal custody (called joint parental responsibilities). … Therefore, often one parent has the sole physical custody or primary parental responsibilities with the child, while the other parent has visitation or parenting time. Colorado courts require all divorcing parents with minor children to complete a mandatory parenting class before granting a divorce. This requirement is designed to help parents and children deal with the trauma of divorce and separation.
The three most basic steps involved in getting custody of your child are:
Filing out the Forms
It’s important to correctly fill out the necessary child custody forms, and to know exactly what forms you need. Not completing the right forms or filling them out incorrectly could delay your court date. This is one of the reasons to have a custody lawyer – your lawyer is well versed in both your state laws and the most efficient way to fill out the forms.
Custody Hearing
This is where the judge will hear both parties present reasoning for having primary custody of the children. Some couples choose to negotiate their child custody agreements and have them finalized in court, but when there is a serious dispute, the court will decide the outcome of the custody agreement.
Decision
If a dispute is present the family court judge has the final say concerning the children. The court uses information from several sources to make a decision, and it’s important that both parties abide by the ruling, but know that appeals can be made later. Parenting rights and responsibilities should be amicable, however sadly this is not always the case, and parents often times put their interests, agendas and vengeance above the best interest of children. If you are in a custody dispute, and would like to be represented by a skilled caring custody lawyer in Parker, Colorado visit Thomas Ramunda Jr. He has the experience and knowledge to bring the desired outcome of your case to you!