HOW OFTEN CAN A PARENTING PLAN BE MODIFIED?

“I thought that they could not modify the parenting plan for at least two years?” This is one of the more common misconceptions among people who have gone through a divorce or custody case and are dealing with what we refer to as post decree issues. This misconception is not entirely without merit. Under Colorado law, there is what you might hear referred to as a “two year bar”. However, the misconception is based upon when this bar applies. The limited circumstances to which the two year bar applies are situations in which a parent has filed a motion to change primary custody of the child(ren). Primary custody in this instance refers to, as the statute says, “the party with whom the child resides a majority of the time.”

So, what does this really mean? Modifications of parenting time do not have any limitation except if a parent has sought to change the majority parenting time within the past two years, neither parent may file to change the majority parenting time parent again within that two year period. Even then, the law allows for an exception that says that if the parent seeking to change majority parenting time can establish that the child is endangered in the primary parent’s care, or if the primary parenting time parent is seeking to relocate to a far away location.

Confused? This is why this particular limitation is such a common misconception. Generally, modifications are allowed at any time if a parent can establish that the change is in the best interests of the child. There are many situations and reasons that changing a parenting time schedule might occur far more often than two years.

These quirks, exceptions and confusing aspects of Colorado law regarding post decree changes to a parenting plan are why having experienced, quality counsel on your side is vital to success. Please reach out today for your FREE consultation with Palmer Family Law!