Child Custody and Visitation Attorney in Denver, Colorado
What are parenting time and decision making under Colorado law?
What are parenting time and decision making under Colorado law?
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so this is what I like to call the um
the fake news uh terms of of custody or
parenting time there are a lot of
interchangeable terms that are used in
Colorado we use the term allocation of
Parental responsibilities which is a
mouthful so we call it a PR what APR
means is that the court will allocate
parenting time to each parent based on
the number of overnights that that
parent will exercise with the child
looking at the I guess there are about
12 I believe factors under the best
interest of the child factors that the
court takes into consideration when
allocating parenting time to each parent
so the term custody kind of asserts that
one parent has you know primary custody
of a child but the way that we see it in
Colorado is just really based on the
exercise of overnights which if that’s
equal then that’s equal but in some
circumstances that could mean a parent
is the primary parent because they
exercise more parenting time but by wave
overnights decision making is
interesting this is probably one of the
other areas that a lot of people either
overthink or kind of underestimate uh as
to what types of decisions that they’re
making about their kids so for example
major decisions such as Medical Care
religious upbringing education mental
health dental those are the major
decisions that parents usually are
required kind of mostly by default to
make together jointly in Colorado the
court can allocate decision-making
authority to one parent meaning they
would have sole decision-making
Authority and that would allow that
parent to make those decisions without
consulting the other parent when you
exercise joint decision making you both
are required to make those decisions
jointly if you can’t reach an agreement
then sometimes that may require you to
go to the court or there are other
avenues such as parenting coordinators
and decision makers that the court can
design need authority to help you make
those decisions But ultimately the court
will allocate decision-making Authority
also based on a number of factors
including what’s in the best centers of
the children
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Denver, CO family law attorney Chelsea Augelli talks parenting time and decision making under Colorado law. She explains that this is what I refer to as the “fake news” when it comes to the terminology used in custody or parenting time cases. In Colorado, we use the term “allocation of parental responsibilities” (APR) instead of custody, which can be confusing. APR means that the court determines and allocates parenting time to each parent based on the number of overnights they will spend with the child. The court considers about 12 factors related to the best interests of the child when making this allocation.
The term custody implies that one parent has primary custody, but in Colorado, it’s primarily based on the exercise of overnights. If both parents have an equal number of overnights, then the parenting time is considered equal. However, in certain cases, one parent may be designated as the primary parent if they have more parenting time.
Decision-making is another important aspect that parents often either overthink or underestimate. Major decisions such as medical care, religious upbringing, education, mental health, and dental care usually require joint decision-making by default. However, the court has the authority to allocate decision-making authority to one parent, granting them sole decision-making power. In such cases, that parent can make those decisions without consulting the other parent.
When parents have joint decision-making, they are expected to make decisions together. If they cannot reach an agreement, options like going to court or involving parenting coordinators and decision-makers may be considered. Ultimately, the court allocates decision-making authority based on various factors, always prioritizing the best interests of the children involved.
