Custody in Colorado
Colorado doesn’t use the word “custody” in its statutes. The legal term is “allocation of parental responsibilities,” and it covers two distinct concepts that people often conflate: parenting time and decision-making authority.
If you’re searching for “child custody lawyer in Colorado,” this is what you’re actually looking for.
Parenting Time
This is the schedule—who has the children when. It can range from one parent having the vast majority of overnights (what people used to call “sole custody”) to a roughly equal split. Colorado courts start with the presumption that it’s in the child’s best interest to have frequent and continuing contact with both parents. The specific schedule depends on the facts: work schedules, geography, the children’s ages and needs, and each parent’s ability to provide a stable home.
Under the 2026 child support changes, parenting time has direct financial implications—every overnight now counts toward the child support calculation. This makes the parenting time schedule even more consequential than it already was.
Decision-Making
Decision-making authority covers the major life decisions: education, healthcare, religion, and extracurricular activities. It can be joint (both parents decide together) or sole (one parent decides). Joint decision-making is the default in most cases, but it requires a baseline of communication and cooperation. In high-conflict situations where joint decision-making has proven unworkable, the court may allocate some or all categories to one parent.
Best Interests of the Child
Every custody decision in Colorado is measured against the best interests standard. The factors include the parents’ wishes, the child’s wishes (if old enough), the child’s adjustment to home and community, the mental and physical health of all parties, each parent’s ability to foster the child’s relationship with the other parent, and the physical proximity of the parents’ homes.
Notice that last factor—facilitating the relationship with the other parent. Courts take this seriously. The parent who cooperates, keeps the children out of the conflict, and supports the other parent’s involvement tends to be favored. The parent who obstructs, badmouths, or alienates does not.
Custody disputes are among the most emotionally intense areas of family law. The stakes are real—these are your children. But the parents who navigate it best are the ones who can separate what they feel from what they do. At Burnham Law, we help parents understand their rights, build strong cases, and keep the focus where it belongs: on the kids.