How Are Parental Responsibilities Determined?
In Colorado, the term child “custody” has been done away with to remove the idea that a child is owned by parents and to encourage and foster active participation of both parties in their children’s lives after a divorce. Thus, divorcing parents need to come up with a parenting plan that includes actual parenting time for both as well as the delegation of decision-making about the children, which doesn’t necessarily involve the presence of their children. A parenting plan submitted to the court needs to include such things as standard and holiday schedules, vacations, exchanges, transportation, and a way to resolve disputes. It also may need to have provisions for changes as children mature as well as other provisions based on each family’s circumstances. How all of this is worked out is based on many factors. The primary factor may be the desire of the parents and the desire of the children, if they are mature enough to voice any preferences. Other factors may include housing proximit
