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.
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.
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.
The court will consider a number of factors when it attempts to determine the best schedule to follow for visitation or parenting time, including:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Formerly known as child visitation, Parenting Time outlines the schedule and conditions under which each parent may see their children