Summary: A workable parenting plan in Colorado addresses parenting time, decision-making authority, communication, and what happens when life changes. The strongest plans cover real schedules, real conflicts, and the safety of the children, not just the legal minimum.
Key Takeaways
- Colorado requires a parenting plan in every divorce or separation involving minor children
- The plan must address parenting time and decision-making authority for major decisions
- A workable plan covers schedules, holidays, communication, and how disputes get resolved
- Safety concerns, including domestic violence or child abuse, change how the plan is built
- Modifications require a substantial change in circumstances and proof that the change serves the children
- Working with a mediator or family law attorney often produces stronger plans than going it alone
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You sat across the table from your lawyer and signed the parenting plan. Then you got home and realized none of it fits the way your life actually works. The plan on paper does not match the plan you need to live.
According to a 2025 Pew Research Center analysis, about 1.8 million Americans divorced in 2023, and 40% of those divorces happened in the first decade when children are still young. A parenting plan written during that window will shape how kids grow up across two homes.
A workable plan is not the same as a legal plan. The strongest plans handle the everyday details and the hard moments, not just the minimum required by the court.
In this post, you’ll learn:
- What a parenting plan must include under Colorado law
- How to build a schedule, decision-making structure, and communication plan that holds up
- How to address safety concerns when they exist
- How to plan for changes down the road
What a Parenting Plan Covers Under Colorado Law
Colorado uses the term “parental responsibilities” instead of “custody“. The parenting plan is the document that allocates those responsibilities between the parties. It tells the court how the parents will raise the children after the separation or divorce.
Every plan filed in Colorado must address two core pieces: decision-making authority and parenting time. The court reviews the plan to make certain it serves the best interests of the children before signing it as a final order.
Decision-Making Authority Explained
Decision-making authority covers major decisions, including education, medical care, religious upbringing, and other significant matters. Parents share joint decision-making, or the court may give one parent sole authority when the parties cannot cooperate.
How Parenting Time Works
Parenting time is the schedule of when each parent has the children. Colorado does not presume a 50/50 split. But most parenting plans end up in a shared arrangement when both parents are fit, and the geography works.
A workable plan spells out the schedule in detail. Vague language about “reasonable” parenting time invites future conflict when the parents disagree about what the word means.
Step 1: Start With the Schedule
The schedule is the backbone of any workable parenting plan. Everything else, from holidays to how the parents handle changes, builds on the week-to-week parenting time arrangement.
A strong schedule fits the children’s real lives. School pickups, extracurricular activities, sleep routines, and how far apart the parents live all shape which arrangement actually works.
Common Parenting Time Schedules
Most Colorado parenting plans land in one of several common patterns. The right fit depends on the children’s ages, the parents’ work obligations, and the parties’ ability to cooperate.
Child Custody Schedule Types
| Schedule Type | Time Split | Best Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Equal time | 50/50 (week-on, week-off or 2-2-3 rotation) | Parents living close, low conflict, school-age children |
| Majority time | 60/40 or 70/30 | One parent with greater work demands or a longer commute |
| Primary residence with visitation | 80/20 or every other weekend | Long distances, very young children, or one parent unable to provide stable housing |
| Custom hybrid | Varies by season | Older children, complex extracurricular activities, and military service obligations |
The plan should also lay out how holidays are split between the parents. Birthdays, school breaks, summer vacation, and family traditions all need a clear answer before the first year passes.
Step 2: Decide How You Will Make Decisions Together
Decision-making authority is the second core piece of a Colorado parenting plan. The plan should specify which decisions are made jointly and which each parent may make alone.
When Joint Decision-Making Works and When It Does Not
Joint decision-making works when both parents communicate and put the children first. Colorado courts default to joint authority in most cases because shared input usually produces better outcomes for kids.
Sole decision-making becomes appropriate when one parent has a history of poor judgment or when the parents cannot reach an agreement. The plan also splits authority by category, with one parent making medical decisions and the other making educational choices.
Step 3: Build Communication Into the Plan
Communication is where most parenting plans either hold together or fall apart. The plan should set clear rules for how the parents communicate about the children. It also addresses how quickly they respond to each other, and what channels they use.
According to a 2025 AAML Journal article, research consistently shows that the quality of co-parenting has a direct impact on the parent-child relationship. Constant exposure to parental conflict contributes to behavioral problems in children. The plan can either reduce that conflict or amplify it.
How to Use a Co-Parenting App
A co-parenting app keeps communication in one place, time-stamped and searchable. The major apps handle schedule changes and expense tracking. It also keeps track of message logs, and shared documents like school forms and medical records.
Many Colorado courts now order parents to use a co-parenting app when conflict is high, since the written record discourages the kind of escalation that happens in casual texts.
Communication Rules That Reduce Conflict
The plan should specify which topics belong in writing versus on the phone. Decisions about the children go in writing. Quick updates about pickup times can happen by text or call.
Strong plans also set response time expectations and ban communication about the divorce or relationship issues. In addition it requires that the children never get used as messengers between the parents.
Step 4: Address Safety Concerns Head-On
Safety overrides every other consideration in a parenting plan. When one parent has serious concerns about the children’s safety, the plan needs to reflect those concerns. i
Domestic violence, child abuse, sexual abuse, and substance abuse are all grounds for the court to limit or supervise one parent’s time with the children. The plan should spell out the specific restrictions and what conditions, if any, would change them.
When Supervised Visitation Is Appropriate
Supervised visitation means a neutral third party stays present during the parents’ time with the children. The supervisor may be a family member, a professional supervision provider, or someone agreed to by both parties and approved by the judge.
Colorado courts order supervised visitation when there is credible evidence of abuse. It is considered when a parent has untreated addiction issues. In addition, it is often ordered when reintroducing a parent who has been absent.
Protecting the Child’s Physical and Emotional Security
The plan may also include protective measures short of supervision. Options include no overnight visits and exchanges in public places. It also includes no alcohol or drug use during parenting time, and contact restrictions on specific people.
The goal is a plan that protects the children’s physical safety, emotional security, and the health of the child without cutting off a parent unnecessarily.
Step 5: Plan for Changes
The strongest plans build in flexibility because circumstances change. A parent may take a new job, relocate, deploy on military service, or face a serious health issue that affects their schedule.
Including building modification language in the original plan saves time and money later. A plan that says “the parties will mediate before filing any motion to modify” makes future changes cheaper. It also encourages a less adversarial relationship.
When and How to Modify the Plan
Colorado courts allow modifications to parenting time when a substantial change in circumstances has occurred, and the modification serves the children’s best interests. Decision-making is harder to modify and requires a stronger showing.
Relocation more than a short distance away typically triggers a relocation hearing, where the moving parent must show that the move serves the children. Future changes around the school, medical care, or activities will often be handled without a full-court hearing if the parties agree.
Why You Need a Family Law Attorney for Your Parenting Plan
A parenting plan is a court order with real legal weight. The wrong language in the schedule, decision-making, or modification provisions follows the family for years. This often resurfaces as conflict at the worst possible moments.
A family law attorney handling a Colorado parenting plan typically takes on:
- Drafting a clear schedule, decision-making, and communication provisions that hold up under stress
- Negotiating with the other parent or their attorney to reach an agreement before trial
- Building protective measures into the plan when safety concerns exist
- Representing the parties in mediation, hearings, or contested permanent orders
- Preparing modification petitions when life circumstances genuinely change
The right attorney also pulls in mediators, child and family investigators, and other professionals when the case calls for it. Strong legal guidance early often prevents the kind of court battles that drain a family for years.
Build a Parenting Plan That Holds Up
A well-written parenting plan outlasts the divorce. It guides school decisions, holiday traditions, medical choices, and a hundred small moments that shape childhood. A plan written poorly creates conflict at every one of them.
Our Colorado Springs family law team at Rocky Mountain Legal Group builds parenting plans for Colorado families across the Front Range and beyond. We help parents draft schedules and decision-making provisions that fit real life, with protective measures when safety requires them.
If you are heading into a separation or working through a parenting plan that no longer fits, contact our family law team today for a confidential consultation. The plan you sign now will shape the next chapter of your family’s life.
Colorado Parenting Plans FAQs
Can my ex and I create a parenting plan without going to court?
Yes. Most Colorado parents reach an agreement through mediation or direct negotiation, then submit the plan to the court for approval. A judge will sign off on the agreement as long as it serves the children.
What happens if we cannot agree on a parenting plan?
The court decides. Both parties present their proposed plans, and the judge will make the final call based on the children’s best interests. Contested permanent orders hearings can take months and cost thousands.
How does a judge decide parenting time in Colorado?
The judge applies the best interests factors in Colorado law, including each parent’s relationship with the children. Also factored are the children’s wishes when age-appropriate, the parents’ ability to cooperate, and the children’s adjustment to home and school.
Can a parenting plan be modified later?
Yes, when a substantial change in circumstances has occurred. Parenting time changes are easier to get approved than decision-making changes. Relocation triggers a separate process under Colorado law.
What if I have safety concerns about my co-parent?
Tell your attorney immediately. The plan may include supervised visitation, contact restrictions, exchange protocols. It also includes other protective measures when domestic violence, child abuse, or substance abuse is documented.
Do we have to use the same schedule year-round?
No. Most plans split the year into a school-year schedule and a summer schedule. Many also include different plans for major holidays and birthdays.
How is child support calculated in Colorado parenting plans?
Colorado uses statutory guidelines based on both parents’ gross incomes, the number of overnights with each parent, health insurance costs, and work-related childcare. The parenting time schedule directly affects the calculation.