Denver Child Custody Attorneys

We’ll Fight for Your Parental Rights

Few issues in family law are more emotionally charged than the ones pertaining to child custody (or what the courts today refer to as ‘parenting time’) and child support. While these matters are intimate and personal, emotions rarely win the day in court. That is why a skilled family lawyer like Jorgensen, Brownell & Pepin, P.C., can be essential.

Regardless of the orders that are ultimately entered, each parent has a legal duty to support their children financially. This duty continues until the child reaches 19 years of age or graduates from high school, whichever is later.

By knowing the legal standards that must be met for custody and supporting them with evidence, your attorney can work to achieve your goals.

Parenting Time Laws

These laws are meant to specify who is responsible for housing, caring for, and rearing a child in cases in which parents divorce or separate.

While in an ideal world, parents would work parenting time issues out on their own, this is not always possible. When this happens, the court will step in to make custody decisions and consider a variety of factors, such as:

• A child’s adjustments to a new community, school, and home life
• Parents’ ability to share responsibility and maintain positive communication/relationships
• The location of parents / guardians in relation to one another, as this can impact parenting time
• The nature of the relationships between a child and each parent, as well as other relatives or individuals who the child may come into contact with regularly
• The history of the parents’ involvement in the child’s life and indications of their ability to provide support and a positive home, and meet commitments

Understanding Colorado’s Laws

Current parenting time laws in Colorado speak of parental responsibilities. The court is primarily concerned with what will be in the best interests of the child. This takes precedence over the desires of the parents.

There are no set rules on who will automatically get custody of the children. This means that gender is not factored into the decision and the mother is not automatically favored when it comes to obtaining custody. There are statutory factors that the court must consider in awarding parenting time and decision making authority to parents.