In Colorado, the court considers equally each parent’s ability to care for a child in a custody case. If your custody case goes to court, child custody will prioritize the child’s best interests.
Call our team at Jones Law Firm, PC, at (720) 664-7012 for more information about a mother’s rights in Colorado during divorce and child custody decisions. We have served Colorado in family law courts for over 20 years. In this article, we use gendered language based on traditional marriages, but we can also handle custody cases in same-sex marriages.
Child Custody in Colorado
Sometimes, married parents who are separating and deciding on child custody can manage to form an agreement during mediation or between themselves, without intervention by the court.
However, many divorcing couples cannot agree on child custody or child support terms, leading to a child custody case. In these instances, the court will determine what is in the child’s best interests.
Sole custody is rare, usually only awarded in cases where the noncustodial parent is unfit or unable to care for the child. Joint custody refers to sharing in either legal or physical custody, or both.
A difference exists between physical custody and legal custody:
Legal custody grants the decision-making to the parent(s), such as medical, educational, extracurricular, and religious decisions for the child.
Physical custody orders assign one parent as the custodial parent in whose home the child will primarily live. It is separate from visitation.
Planning for a Colorado Custody Case
Colorado child custody courts will equally consider each parent’s fitness and willingness to determine what custody arrangements are in the child’s best interests. However, one spouse may threaten to make the other seem unfit or incompetent by:
- Raising questions about the parent’s financial ability to support the children
- Claiming that the parent’s reduced work experience while raising the children makes him/her less than skilled enough to find work opportunities to support himself/herself and the children
- Instigating questions about the parent’s new partner if he/she is in a new relationship
The court will decide based on the child’s best interests, but an attorney knowledgeable in a mother’s rights in a custody case can help a mother know what to expect and how to respond.
Deciding the Child’s Best Interests
The court will determine the best options for your children based on you and your former spouse’s abilities to protect, feed, clothe, and house your children.
A responsible parent will be able to care not just for a child’s physical needs but also for their mental and emotional well-being. Among other factors, the court in your custody case will consider the:
- Wishes of each parent for parenting time
- Wishes of the child for parenting time (if over 12 years of age)
- Relationships of a child with each parent, siblings in either home or any other family members in either home
- Adjustment of the child to home, community, and school
- Each parent’s mental and physical abilities to care for a child in either home
There are also several factors the court will not consider, including the gender of either parent, income, education level of either parent and more.
Call our mothers’ rights lawyers at Jones Law Firm, PC, in Denver, Colorado
If you are divorcing and fighting for fair child custody or child support, turn to our experienced family law team at Jones Law Firm, PC. We have represented many mothers fighting for their rights in child custody cases in Colorado, and we look forward to helping you. Call us today at 720-513-5983 or contact us online.
