How Colorado Courts Determine the Best Interest of the Child

In Colorado, a court decides what’s in the best interest of the child by working through the specific factors listed in C.R.S. 14-10-124, weighing each parent’s relationship with the child, the child’s ties to home and school, any history of domestic violence, and several other considerations. No single factor decides the case on its own, and the child’s safety is always the court’s top priority.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

The standard governs both parenting time (the actual schedule of when the child is with each parent) and decision-making responsibility (legal authority over major choices like schooling and healthcare). The same statute drives later disputes too, including requests to modify an order or move out of the area.

The Factors a Judge Weighs

When setting parenting time, Colorado judges are required to consider all relevant circumstances, and the statute specifically calls out these:1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

  • Each parent’s wishes for the parenting time schedule.
  • The child’s wishes, if the child is mature enough to express a reasoned and independent preference.
  • The child’s relationships with each parent, siblings, and anyone else who significantly affects the child’s life.
  • How well the child has adjusted to home, school, and community.
  • The mental and physical health of everyone involved. A disability alone cannot be grounds to deny or limit parenting time.
  • Each parent’s willingness to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent. Steps taken to protect a child from domestic violence or abuse do not count against a parent here.
  • Each parent’s past pattern of involvement with the child, and whether that history reflects shared values and consistent commitment.
  • How close the parents live to each other, and how that distance affects a workable schedule.
  • Each parent’s ability to place the child’s needs ahead of personal interests.

Courts also review any domestic violence reports filed by a Child and Family Investigator, a Parental Responsibilities Evaluator, or a legal representative appointed for the child. Judges can hear additional testimony about domestic violence from therapists, school staff, parenting time supervisors, and other witnesses.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

Beyond the statutory list, practical scheduling questions come in through the factors on adjustment and geographic proximity. A child’s age and stage matter. Very young children often need frequent, shorter visits with the non-primary parent to maintain attachment without disrupting feeding and sleep routines. School-age children’s schedules revolve around academics and activities, and courts try to avoid constant mid-week transitions. When parents live in the same area, roughly equal time-sharing becomes more feasible; when they don’t, one parent often has the child during the school year while the other gets extended time over summer and holidays.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

How Safety and Domestic Violence Change the Analysis

When anyone raises a claim of child abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, the court must address that issue before it reaches the standard factors. Safety jumps to the front of the line. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent committed domestic violence, several consequences follow automatically:1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

  • The court will not award mutual decision-making responsibility if the other parent or the child’s legal representative objects, unless credible evidence shows the parents can cooperate safely.
  • The well-being of the child and of the abused parent becomes the court’s central focus in crafting the parenting plan.
  • The court may impose safeguards such as supervised visitation, require a domestic violence evaluation, or order the offending parent to complete a treatment program before unsupervised contact resumes.
  • The court cannot appoint a parenting coordinator solely to make shared decision-making possible when domestic violence is present.

Colorado defines domestic violence broadly for custody purposes. It includes both actual violence and threats of violence against someone in an intimate relationship, and it covers acts directed at property or pets used to intimidate or control.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

A court can also deny or restrict parenting time entirely if it finds, after a hearing, that contact with a parent would endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development. Any restriction order has to include the specific factual findings that support it.

Decision-Making Responsibility Is a Separate Question

Decision-making responsibility covers legal authority over major areas of the child’s life, including education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and extracurricular activities. It is distinct from the parenting time schedule. The court can split this authority however it sees fit: both parents sharing everything, one parent handling it all, or a mix where each parent controls specific areas.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

On top of the parenting time factors, three considerations apply specifically to decision-making:

  • Whether credible evidence shows the parents can realistically make joint decisions, or whether every conversation turns into a fight.
  • Whether the parents’ track record of involvement reflects the shared values and mutual support that make joint decisions workable.
  • Whether sharing decision-making would promote more frequent or continuing contact between the child and each parent.

Where domestic violence is in the picture, the safety analysis above governs first. A parent with a documented history of abuse will rarely receive shared decision-making authority unless strong evidence shows cooperation is both possible and safe.

How Much Weight Does the Child’s Preference Carry

Colorado does not set a specific age at which a child gets to choose which parent they live with. The court considers a child’s wishes if the child is “sufficiently mature to express reasoned and independent preferences.” That language gives judges broad discretion. A thoughtful 10-year-old might carry more weight than a 15-year-old who is clearly repeating one parent’s talking points.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-124

Judges rarely put a child on the witness stand. The child’s perspective usually reaches the court through a CFI report, a PRE evaluation, or a child’s legal representative appointed under C.R.S. 14-10-116. That representative is an attorney who investigates the family situation and advocates for the child’s best interests in court.2Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-116.5

Preference is one factor among many. It will not override safety concerns, household stability, or the other statutory considerations. If a judge suspects an opinion has been coached or coerced, the preference gets discounted, and the coaching itself may reflect poorly on the parent responsible.

Who Investigates and Reports to the Judge

In contested cases, the court usually relies on a neutral professional to gather information and make recommendations. Two roles come up most often.

Child and Family Investigator

A Child and Family Investigator (CFI) is the most common court-appointed professional in Colorado custody cases. A CFI investigates the family situation and provides a written report with recommendations about what arrangement serves the child’s best interests. CFIs can be attorneys, mental health professionals, or others with qualifying training, and all must complete at least 20 hours of initial training in domestic violence, coercive control, and child abuse.2Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-116.5

CFI fees are capped. For privately paid CFIs, the presumptive maximum is $3,250 for the investigation and report, plus up to $500 if testimony is required. Exceeding either cap requires a court order with specific findings explaining the extraordinary circumstances. Courts allocate the cost between the parents, and state funding may cover some or all of the fee for parents who qualify financially.3Colorado Judicial Branch. Chief Justice Directive 04-08 – Concerning Court Appointments of Child and Family Investigators

Parental Responsibilities Evaluator

A Parental Responsibilities Evaluator (PRE) conducts a deeper assessment than a CFI. PREs must be licensed mental health professionals (psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, or licensed addiction counselors) with expertise in areas like child development, adult psychopathology, the effects of divorce, and clinical assessment. They can administer psychological testing and conduct extended observations that go beyond a CFI’s scope.

Unlike CFIs, there is no state-paid PRE program. Parents pay the full cost, and while the judge has discretion to cap fees, there is no preset statutory maximum. PRE evaluations routinely cost several thousand dollars, so parents often ask the court to set a fee limit at the outset.

Parenting Time Evaluations

In contested cases, a judge may order a parenting time evaluation. These involve home visits, interviews with both parents and the child, and observation of parent-child interactions. The evaluator’s written report and recommendations carry substantial weight, particularly when one parent’s ability to provide a stable environment is in question.

The Same Standard Applies to Modifications

Colorado allows modifications to parenting time whenever the change would serve the child’s best interests. There is an important distinction between routine adjustments and major overhauls.4Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-129

A substantial modification that changes which parent the child lives with most of the time faces a higher bar. The parent requesting the change must show that circumstances have actually changed since the last order, and that the modification is necessary for the child’s best interests. Courts apply this tighter standard to prevent parents from relitigating custody every time they’re unhappy with the arrangement.

Colorado also imposes a two-year cooling-off period after a substantial modification motion is filed, whether or not it was granted. During that window, no new motion for a major change can be filed unless the court determines, based on written statements, that the child’s current environment may endanger their physical health or significantly impair their emotional development, or that the primary parent is planning to relocate.4Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-129

Relocation Adds Extra Factors

When the parent who has the child most of the time wants to move somewhere that would significantly change the child’s geographic ties to the other parent, C.R.S. 14-10-129 kicks in. Colorado does not use a specific mileage threshold. The test is whether the move would substantially disrupt the child’s existing relationship with the other parent.4Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-129

The relocating parent must give the other parent written notice as soon as practicable, including the intended new address, the reason for the move, and a proposed revised parenting time plan. Relocation hearings receive priority on the court’s docket.4Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-129

On top of the standard best-interest factors, the court considers nine additional relocation-specific factors:

  • The relocating parent’s reasons for the move.
  • The other parent’s reasons for objecting.
  • The quality of each parent’s relationship with the child since the last parenting order.
  • Educational opportunities at both the current and proposed locations.
  • Extended family support at each location.
  • The advantage of the child staying with the primary caregiver.
  • The anticipated impact of the move on the child.
  • Whether a workable parenting time schedule can be created if the move is allowed.
  • Any other factors bearing on the child’s best interests.

The court also examines whether domestic violence has occurred, which must be shown by a preponderance of the evidence.4Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-10-129

A Note for Military Parents

Deployment cannot, by itself, drive a best-interest ruling against a service member. Under C.R.S. 14-13.7-107, a parent’s past deployment or possible future deployment cannot serve as the sole basis for a best-interest determination. The standard factors still apply, but military service on its own doesn’t tip the scales.5Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Section 14-13.7-107

Federal protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act add another layer. Active-duty service members can request a stay of civil proceedings, including custody cases, while they are deployed or otherwise unable to appear.