Colorado courts make all decisions in the best interests of the children. For family court in Colorado, the presumption is that a continued meaningful relationship and frequent close contact with both parents is in a child’s best interests.
Most custody agreements in Colorado support this presumption. However, the court also understands that situations change and new information sometimes comes to light. If the court finds sufficient evidence to believe that one parent is endangering a child’s physical or emotional well-being, they can order an emergency motion to suspend that parent’s visitation rights.
A motion to temporarily restrict a parent’s court-ordered parenting time prohibits that parent’s unsupervised visitation with their children for 14 days until the restricted parent appears in court to defend themselves, and the parent who sought the motion to suspend visitation can present their evidence. Reach out to our Denver child custody attorney for a free consultation today.
What Does Colorado Family Law Say About Suspending Visitation?
The Colorado Family Court upholds the standard of making all decisions in a child’s best interests, including during one parent’s emergency motion to suspend the other parent’s visitation with the child. Under Colorado C.R.S. 14-10-129, the law states the following:
“The court shall not restrict a parent’s parenting time rights unless it finds that the parenting time would endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development. In addition to a finding that parenting time would endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development, in any order imposing or continuing a parenting time restriction, the court shall enumerate the specific factual findings supporting the restriction.”
What Evidence Do I Need to Suspend My Ex-Spouse’s Visitation Rights?
Colorado judges demand specifics from a spouse requesting an emergency motion to suspend visitation. The petition the requesting parent must fill out for the judge asks for a detailed explanation as to why the parent feels their child is in imminent danger when left in the unsupervised custody of the other parent.
The parent must be specific and add only factual information on their petition rather than using broad, non-specific terms like “I believe my child is in imminent danger in my ex-spouse’s custody.”
A court requires tangible evidence that the children face a serious danger to their physical or emotional health while in the other parent’s custody. Examples of negligence or abuse that warrant the suspension of a parent’s visitation include:
- Serious drug or alcohol abuse in the presence of the child
- Driving under the influence of substances with children in the vehicle
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Verbal or emotional abuse
- Unsafe storage of firearms
- Child neglect such as leaving small children home alone or failing to provide basic care like feeding a child, changing soiled diapers, and providing a safe living environment
A judge may require evidence such as photos, police reports, therapist evaluations, eyewitness testimony, or reports from child protective services to approve a request for temporary suspension of parenting time. Emergency motions to suspend visitation are issued sparingly by Colorado courts and only with sufficient evidence.
How Do I File an Emergency Motion to Suspend My Child’s Visitation With Their Other Parent?
The Colorado court takes a motion to suspend a parent’s visitation very seriously, including serious legal consequences for an unwarranted motion, such as an order to pay the other parent’s legal fees and a requirement to grant the other parent makeup parenting time.
If the court determines that the misrepresentation was intentional, the parent who made the false accusation could face criminal contempt of court charges with the possibility of fines and jail time. Because emergency motions to suspend a parent’s visitation are very serious, it’s critical to consult with an attorney before filing a motion. Your attorney will evaluate the merits of your case to determine whether it has standing before doing the following:
- Provide guidance on the best way to proceed under the unique circumstances of your case
- Gather evidence to support your claim, including photos, videos, a police report, eyewitness statements, and medical records
- Prepare and file the emergency motion to suspend visitation with diligent attention to detail to make a compelling case
- The court reviews the motion and evidence
If the court agrees to the emergency motion to suspend visitation, your attorney will prepare for the hearing, which occurs within 14 days of the motion.
Consequences of an Emergency Motion to Suspend Visitation
After one parent requests an emergency motion to suspend the other parent’s court-ordered parenting time, the court reviews the allegations. If they find the request credible, they put the emergency suspension in place and set a hearing date within 14 days.
During that time, the other parent may be allowed only supervised visitation with the children in the presence of a neutral third party or a licensed mental health professional. In some cases, visitation is completely suspended since 14 days doesn’t give the court time to vet acceptable third-party supervisors.
At the hearing, both sides may present their arguments and evidence. If the court finds cause to continue the suspension of the visitation, they may issue permanent changes to the child custody order, such as for supervised visitation only. On the other hand, if they find the accusation without merit, the judge could order the accusing parent to pay attorney’s fees and court costs.
What Happens After the Hearing?
After the court agrees to a motion to suspend visitation, the judge may require further action or remedies for the situation, depending on the circumstances. The court’s goal is to meet the standard of acting in a child’s best interest. Under Rev. Stat. § 19-1-102(1), (1.5), one portion of the law describes meeting a child’s best interest in the following way when considering removing a child from one parent’s custody or visitation:
Serving a child’s best interests may require the court do the following: “To remove a child from the custody of their parents only when their welfare and safety or the protection of the public would otherwise be endangered and, in either instance, for the courts to proceed with all possible speed to a legal determination that will serve the best interests of the child.
After the hearing, the following circumstances may apply, depending on the individual circumstances and the court’s findings:
- A court order for psychological evaluations to assess the parents’ and the child’s emotional well-being and mental status
- Home study orders to evaluate the child’s living environment in each parent’s home
- The appointment of a Guardian Ad Litem, which is a neutral third party, to investigate the child’s circumstances and report to the court, with the purpose of protecting the child’s best interests as the goal
If you need help with filing or requesting an emergency motion to suspend visitation, contact a Denver family lawyer from Ciancio Ciancio Brown P.C. today.