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Fort Collins Child Visitation Lawyer

When parents with children choose to divorce, creating a schedule for the parents to spend time with the children is a key aspect of separation and divorce negotiations. Creating this schedule can be a significant challenge when the parents cannot agree on the best situation for the children. Our Fort Collins child visitation lawyer is well-versed on the rules for divorce in Colorado, and we will work hard to move toward the outcome you would like to see.

“Parenting Time” vs. “Visitation” in Colorado

Although most states use the term “visitation” to describe the parenting schedule created after a divorce, Colorado uses the term “parenting time.” This use of different terminology can be difficult to understand for some people, especially those new to the state of Colorado. But you can think of parenting time and visitation in the same vein to help you avoid confusion.

When you are ready to discuss your situation, contact our Fort Collins visitation attorney. We are ready to begin working for you immediately after you choose to hire us. Contact The Cossitt Law Firm today.

Our Child Visitation Lawyer in Fort Collins, CO, Can Explain the Process

Going into a child parenting time negotiation or hearing can be a daunting feeling for parents. Not only will you be going through a situation that most likely is completely new to you, but you also will be sitting in the same room as your soon-to-be-ex-spouse. Emotions are sure to run high when discussing the future of your children. They may ramp up a few extra notches when the divorce proceedings are contentious.

Understanding exactly what you are facing with visitation rights is a key service that our Fort Collins child parenting time lawyer will provide to you. We can explain the entire process, which may help you feel less emotional. By turning down the emotions and focusing on the facts, we believe we can help achieve a better result in your favor.

Factors the Court Considers for Setting Parenting Time in Colorado

The court will consider a number of factors when it attempts to determine the best schedule to follow for visitation or parenting time, including:

  • The child’s wishes for the visitation schedule, as long as the child is mature enough to provide a reasoned opinion
  • The child’s ability to interact successfully with each parent, as well as siblings and other family members who will be present
  • The child’s ability to adjust to new surroundings at each parent’s home
  • The ability of each parent to avoid criticizing the other parent, while also encouraging the child to have affection for the other parent
  • Protecting the child from witnessing any domestic abuse or from becoming a victim of child abuse, either emotional or physical
  • The ability of each parent to avoid using drugs or drinking alcohol excessively
  • The ability of each parent to commit to the time required to care for the child during the scheduled parenting time
  • The ability of each parent to place the child’s needs first.

Our Fort Collins Child Visitation Lawyer Will Explain How the Court Considers the Best Interests of the Child

When making decisions about child custody and parenting time, the courts in Colorado will focus on what is in the best interests of the child. For example, if the court believes the child may struggle to adjust to spending time in your ex-spouse’s new home because it is far away from friends and family members the child knows well, the court may limit the parenting time for your ex-spouse.

Colorado family law defines the rules for understanding the best interests of the child (C.R.S. § 14-10-124). Our visitation rights lawyer can give you advice on how the courts may treat your situation, based on this statute. You may believe your ex-spouse’s visitation should have significant limits because it would be the best situation for the child. If so, count on our parental time lawyer to collect the facts that show the court the importance of agreeing with your point of view.

Take Advantage of the Experience of Our Fort Collins Child Parenting Time Attorney

The team at The Cossitt Law Firm has been defending the rights of our clients for decades in divorce and family law cases, including undertaking negotiations about parenting time for the children. We treat our clients with compassion and respect. We help our clients understand the situation they and their children are facing when they attempt to sort out parenting time during the divorce negotiations.

Contact our child visitation rights lawyer in Fort Collins, CO, today to discuss your case.

Our Fort Collins Child Visitation Lawyer Can Help with Parenting Time Plans Involving Infants

When you have an infant, it is possible that you and the child’s mother or father never married. Even in cases where no divorce proceedings occur, you can seek the right to receive parenting time with the infant, and our infant visitation rights lawyer is ready to help.

In Colorado, the courts nearly always will grant one parent primary custody of the infant.

This differs from the standard procedure with older children in Colorado, when courts often attempt to have both parents share joint custody. The idea behind giving one parent primary custody of an infant occurs because of the importance for an infant to have a stable presence in his or her life. The infant needs to form an attachment with a parent and shuttling the child between both parents in a joint custody situation may jeopardize this ability.

Using a Visitation Rights Lawyer Is Especially Important with an Infant

Should the infant’s other parent receive sole custody, you must rely on your visitation time to form a relationship with the infant. In a case like this, you will want to seek a favorable parenting time judgment. Don’t just assume the courts will grant this to you, especially if the child’s other parent attempts to prove that you should have no or highly limited visitation rights. If you do not make your feelings known early in the process, you may miss your window of opportunity.

If the infant’s other parent has legal representation and you do not, you could be facing an uphill battle in trying to convince the court that you deserve visitation rights.

Our child custody attorneys will be dedicated in our pursuit of your visitation rights. When you are in the midst of a fight for parental time regarding your newborn, you can rest assured that we will stand by your side. We do not back down from tough cases and difficult situations. In fact, we will redouble our efforts to help you receive the outcome you are seeking.

Common Questions for Our Fort Collins Child Visitation Attorney

One of the most important services that our parenting time rights lawyer provides to clients is our dedication to keeping clients fully engaged in and informed about their case. We want our clients to be involved all the way through to the conclusion. Through the process of a case, we are always available to answer questions for our clients. Providing this type of dedicated service to our clients sets our team of parenting time lawyers at The Cossitt Law Firm apart from other firms.

We list some of the most common questions we hear from clients, along with our answers.

Our answers give you an idea about the types of services our Fort Collins child visitation attorney will provide and some of the techniques we may use to develop a Colorado parenting plan.

You can count on our Fort Collins child visitation attorney to stay dedicated to obtaining the fairest parenting time rights judgment for you. When you are wondering what a visitation lawyer does, you can know that our primary purpose is to ensure that your side of the story and your desires are part of the negotiations about parenting time. When your spouse’s lawyer attempts to deny you a fair parenting time schedule, perhaps claiming that you may place the children in danger, having our visitation lawyer on your side can help you counteract these arguments. When the other side introduces half-truths or otherwise stretches the facts in your divorce proceedings, our team will stand up for your rights.

The most common results during a parenting time hearing or negotiation are almost equal parenting time for both parents. Our Fort Collins child visitation lawyer will work to generate a parenting time schedule that treats you fairly, while also providing the best results for your children. If you expect to receive the majority of visitation time with your children, you need to show the court why giving your spouse less time is in the best interests of your children. Determining reasonable rights of parenting time is a process our team can help you undertake.

From a legal standpoint, the custodial parent’s denying visitation rights to the other parent is not permissible. Sometimes the custodial parent may simply make a mistake when looking at the visitation schedule, leading to your missing out on your visitation. It could be, though, that this error is purposeful, an intentional effort to deny your parental time rights. If this happens to you, our Fort Collins child parenting time lawyer can ask the court to enforce the visitation rules your spouse agreed to follow.

Because Colorado is a no-fault divorce state, the courts will not take away visitation rights from your spouse because he or she cheated on you during your marriage. However, if you and our team can show that your ex-spouse’s overall behavior will place your children in danger, our visitation lawyers may be able to convince the court that giving your ex-spouse parenting time rights is not in your children’s best interests.

Our Fort Collins Parenting Time Lawyer Always Has Your Best Interests in Mind

We understand the difficulty you may face when going through a divorce that involves children. This is a highly emotional time, as you want to start your new life at the same time as trying to look out for the best interests of your children.

The Cossitt Law Firm promises to keep your and your family’s interests at the forefront of all the work we do. Our child visitation lawyer in Fort Collins, CO, will take the time to learn about you and your family. We need to know what is important to you and to understand your goals for your post-divorce life to give us the best chance to represent your interests accurately. We also keep our clients up to date on the progress of the case every step along the way.

Contact our Fort Collins child visitation lawyer as soon as possible. We will be ready to begin working on your case as soon as you choose to hire us.

Top Child Custody Related Pages at Cossitt Law Firm

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Emergency Child Custody & Endangerment


Colorado offers a method for immediate relief when a child is at imminent risk of physical or emotional harm by a parent. The court can act immediately to suspend all unsupervised with the parent allegedly putting the child at risk and place them under emergency child custody with a legal guardian.

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Parenting Plan



As all families are unique, one form of parenting plan will not meet the needs of every family. The best parenting plan will be well developed and custom tailored to the individuals involved. Some parenting plans incorporate terms that will apply far into the future, as when a child emancipates into adulthood.
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Modification of Child Custody


As life changes, child custody orders may no longer fit your needs or circumstances. When this occurs, seeking a child custody modification can be necessary to officially change court orders related to parenting time and/or decision-making responsibilities.

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Parenting Time Articles

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Guide to Parenting Time


Formerly known as child visitation, Parenting Time outlines the schedule and conditions under which each parent may see their children

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Holiday Parenting Time


What holidays do you celebrate and how do you enjoy them? We can assist with crafting a holiday parenting time schedule to meet the needs of everyone involved.
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Parenting Time Schedules


Every child custody case will have a parenting plan that details the schedule so each parent may enjoy parenting time with their child. The schedule is commonly broken into three categories.
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Long Distance Parentings


When parents relocate away from one another, the schedule should be molded to the accommodate logistics, travel costs, and the quality time between parents and children.
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Testimonials

  • "I am very appreciative of Toms services. English is a second language to me, and this process seemed difficult because of that barrier. He was very patient and thorough making sure I understood everything before he proceeded. I will recommend him to everyone! He truly cares about you, as does his wonderful, helpful team"

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  • "I had a very challenging case, one that could have had indefinite financial consequences. Tom Cossitt evaluated my case and identified several strategies for moving forward. I chose one and Tom developed and implemented that strategy with speed and with the utmost in professionalism. The documents he drafted on my behalf, based on extensive research and case law / precedent were thorough and comprehensive. When the Court ruled, it used the arguments as developed by Tom Cossitt verbatim in its decision, and the case was decided in my favor. Needless to say, I was pleased beyond words. Based on my experience and the outcome of my case, I would highly recommend Tom Cossitt to anyone requiring the services of a family law attorney."

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  • "I met with as many as 10 different attorneys before coming across Thomas. After our initial consultation, I was very pleased with his knowledge and realistic expectations. During the really tough time, Thomas kept me calm and helped tremendously to get custody of my daughter. He kept me informed on what was going on and would ask for my input; if it was something that was unrealistic or could be done a different way, Thomas would tell me right away. During the hearings, he was amazing. He kept a professional attitude and was great at cross examinations. He took in all of the facts and evidence, and was able to present them efficiently and effectively. Ultimately helping me gain custody of my child."

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The Cossitt Difference: Fort Collins Divorce Attorneys That Care

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