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Legal Information: Colorado

Custody

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Updated: 
October 13, 2023

What is a parenting plan? Do I have to submit one in court?

A parenting plan sets out how much time each parent has with the child and how decisions about major issues affecting the child will be made, including educational, medical, and religious decisions.

Each party in a custody case can submit a parenting plan for the court’s approval that addresses the allocation of parental responsibilities in a way that s/he would like it to be. If no parenting plan is submitted by either parent, or if the judge does not approve the submitted parenting plan(s), the judge will make his/her own parenting plan that will address parenting time and the allocation of parental responsibilities based on what is in the best interests of the child.1 For more information on how a judge will determine what is in the child’s best interests, see How will a judge make a decision about allocation of parental responsibilities?

1 C.R.S. § 14-10-124(7)