To view this, you need to install the Flash Player 5. Please go to here and download it.

Child Custody Cases

• Parenting Plan
• Emergency Orders
• Temporary Orders
• Permanent Orders
• Modification of Parenting Time
• Relocation
• Termination of Parenting Rights
• Enforcement of Child Custody Orders
• Unmarried Parents
• Grandparents' Rights

Divorce Booklet

Quick Contact

* indicates a required field



Message

Relocation

There are countless legitimate reasons for a parent to need to relocate. The depressed economy can make relocation even more common, and more necessary, as people follow job transfers or seek new opportunities to better support themselves.

Parenting plans ordered as part of divorce proceedings often assume both parties will continue to live near each other, and that picking up or dropping off the children will not involve a flight or several hours of driving. So when the parent who has the majority of the parenting time plans to move far enough away that the relationship with the other parent will be substantially changed, that other parent can request a modification of parenting time. Colorado courts recognize that parents can seek to relocate for both legitimate reasons, and to alienate the other party.

The relocating party is required to notify the other party prior to any relocation, which is intended to give the non-relocating party an opportunity to take legal action to preserve their parenting time, and their relationship with their children. That notice must be provided in writing as soon as practicable, and must include the reason for relocation, the location, and a proposed parenting plan.

If there is an objection to the move, the court will adjust the parenting plan based on the best interest of the child. That means the court will consider all relevant factors, including the historical relationship of each party with the child and the educational opportunities available at each location in question. If the factors weighed by the court include certain criminal convictions or domestic violence, the parties should expect those factors to weigh heavily in the court's determination of the best interests of the child.