Grandparent rights in Colorado are limited and conditional: there is no automatic right to see a grandchild, but when a family has been disrupted by divorce, a parent’s death, or a custody case, a grandparent or great-grandparent can petition the district court for “grandparent family time” and, in narrower circumstances, for custody. Winning either requires clearing a high evidentiary bar built around the constitutional rights of fit parents.
When Grandparents Can Ask a Court for Family Time
Colorado courts cannot hear a grandparent’s petition unless the family has already been touched by a specific legal event. This threshold is called standing, and without it the case is dismissed no matter how strong the grandparent-grandchild bond. A simple refusal by parents in an intact family to allow visits is not enough.
A grandparent or great-grandparent has standing to file if any one of these has occurred:
- The child’s parents divorced, legally separated, or had their marriage annulled.
- Legal custody or parental responsibilities have been given to someone other than a parent, or the child has been placed outside the parental home.
- The parent who is the grandparent’s own child has died.
- There is or has been a court case concerning the child’s custody or allocation of parental responsibilities.
Judges verify these facts at the outset.1Colorado Judicial Branch. Request Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation If none applies, the petition goes no further.
How Adoption Cuts Off Grandparent Rights
Adoption is the single biggest trap for grandparents who delay. In 2025 the Colorado Supreme Court held that once a grandchild is adopted, the biological grandparents lose standing to seek family time. Because adoption makes the child “for all intents and purposes” the child of the adoptive parents under C.R.S. § 19-5-211, the biological grandparent no longer fits the statutory definition of “grandparent” when the petition is filed.2Colorado Judicial Branch. In re 24SC788
One narrow exception survives: when the adoptive parent is a stepparent married to the child’s other biological parent, the grandparent on the deceased or terminated parent’s side may still have standing. Kinship adoptions by aunts, uncles, or family friends end the right to petition. If an adoption is in progress, that is the moment to act.
What You Have to Prove to Win
Standing gets a grandparent into court. It does not produce a family time order. To actually win, the grandparent has to overcome a presumption the U.S. Supreme Court established in Troxel v. Granville: a fit parent’s decision about who spends time with their child is presumed to be in the child’s best interest.3Justia. Troxel v Granville, 530 US 57 (2000)
Colorado courts apply that principle through a three-part test from In re Petition for Adoption of C.A.:
- The court begins with the presumption that the parent’s decision about grandparent contact is correct.
- The grandparent must rebut that presumption with clear and convincing evidence showing the parent’s decision is not in the child’s best interests.
- The grandparent must then prove, by the same clear and convincing standard, that the specific family time schedule being requested is in the child’s best interests.
Clear and convincing evidence sits well above the ordinary civil standard. It calls for something close to certainty, not just a tilt in the grandparent’s favor. The kinds of proof that carry weight include the depth and history of the relationship, how the child responds to the grandparent, any caretaking the grandparent has provided, and whether cutting off contact would genuinely harm the child’s emotional well-being.4Colorado Judicial Branch. In re Petition for Adoption of CA
The statute does not list specific factors; judges have wide discretion to weigh any evidence relevant to the child’s welfare. Vague claims about a loving bond rarely clear the bar. Specifics do.
When Grandparents Can Seek Custody Instead
Family time is not the only option. Under C.R.S. § 14-10-123, a non-parent — grandparents included — can petition for an allocation of parental responsibilities, which is Colorado’s term for custody. The requirements are tighter than those for visitation, and only two scenarios qualify:
- The child is not currently in the physical care of either parent. This covers situations where a parent has abandoned the child, is incarcerated, or is otherwise absent.
- The grandparent had physical care of the child for at least 182 consecutive days, and files the petition within 182 days after that care ended.
The 182-day window is unforgiving. A grandparent who raised a grandchild for years but waited seven months after the child returned to a parent is locked out of this path.5Justia Law. Colorado Code 14-10-123 – Jurisdiction
Custody cases carry the same constitutional protections for parents. The court will scrutinize whether the child’s physical, emotional, and developmental needs are actually unmet by the parent before shifting parental responsibilities to a grandparent.
How to File a Grandparent Family Time Petition
Petitions are filed in the district court in the county where the child lives. In most situations, the grandparent is joining an existing family law case — typically the parents’ divorce — by filing a Motion to Intervene along with the substantive request for family time and a proposed order outlining the schedule. The Colorado Judicial Branch publishes a current set of JDF forms and an instruction guide covering each step.1Colorado Judicial Branch. Request Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation If the child or any relative has American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry, an additional Indian Child Welfare Act assessment form is required.
The filing fee for an intervenor is $264.6Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees A grandparent who cannot afford that amount can file a Motion to Waive Fees; the court reviews income and expenses, and waives fees automatically for those enrolled in certain public assistance programs.7Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 205 – Motion to Waive Fees
Preparation outside the courthouse matters as much as the paperwork. Gather proof of the legal trigger for standing: a divorce decree, death certificate, or existing custody order. Then build the record for best interests: photographs, school and medical attendance records, communications with the child, and documentation of financial support or day-to-day caregiving. Concrete evidence beats general assertions.
Once filed, the motion must be formally served on the parents or legal guardians through a process server or sheriff’s deputy; the grandparent cannot serve the papers personally. Proof of service goes back to the court. The judge may order mediation before setting a contested hearing. If mediation fails, the case proceeds to a hearing and a ruling on the evidence.
Enforcing or Changing a Family Time Order
Winning the order is only part of the fight. If a parent refuses to honor the schedule, C.R.S. § 14-10-124.5 gives the court tools to respond. The grandparent files a verified motion alleging substantial and continuing noncompliance, and the court decides whether a remedy is warranted.
Possible remedies include:
- Makeup family time of the same type and duration that was denied, to be provided within one year.
- A modified schedule designed to reduce future conflict.
- A bond or other security requiring the violating parent to guarantee future compliance.
- A finding of contempt for willful or repeated violations.
- A mediation referral, with results reported to the court within 60 days.
The court can also modify or terminate a family time order whenever circumstances change and the change would serve the child’s best interests.8Justia Law. Colorado Code 19-1-117 – Visitation Rights of Grandparents or Great-Grandparents A parent can ask to reduce or end grandparent time, and a grandparent can ask to expand it; either side must show changed circumstances tied to the child’s welfare.
When the Grandchild Lives Out of State
If the grandchild has moved or lives elsewhere, jurisdiction is a threshold question. Colorado follows the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act at C.R.S. §§ 14-13-101 through 14-13-403, which determines which state’s court has authority over custody and visitation.
The primary rule is home-state jurisdiction: the state where the child has lived with a parent or person acting as a parent for at least six consecutive months before the case is filed. If the child recently moved but a parent still lives in Colorado, the state keeps home-state jurisdiction for 182 days after the child’s departure.9Justia Law. Colorado Code 14-13-201 – Initial Child-Custody Jurisdiction
When a Colorado court has already issued a family time or custody order, it generally keeps exclusive continuing jurisdiction until it finds that the child and all parties have lost significant connection to the state. Another state cannot modify a Colorado order unless Colorado declines jurisdiction or everyone has moved away. The practical rule for grandparents: file in the state the child currently calls home, and if a Colorado order already exists, enforce it in Colorado rather than starting fresh elsewhere.