Divorce is never easy, but when a divorce involves children, it adds a new layer of concern and anxiety for the parents. Colorado’s family courts take a firm stand on parental rights and obligations, including each parent’s right to continued close contact with their child and the obligation to financially support their child.
If you’ve made the decision to divorce and have children, you share a biological child with a non-spouse, or you need to request a modification of an existing child support order in Denver, call a Boulder child support lawyer at Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C. for a tireless legal ally to help you navigate Colorado’s complex child support laws.
Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C. has over 100 years of combined experience in child custody, child support, and all aspects of Colorado family law. We are a full service family law firm that’s ready to bring the following to your case:
We are ready to use all legal measures available to us in your Boulder child support case to help you achieve an outcome that aligns with your goals.
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Colorado’s family court does not consider a parent’s sex as relevant when determining which parent pays child support. Instead, the state uses the Income Shares Model to arrive at a fair child support order based on the total incomes of both parents and each parent’s allotted parenting-time or parental responsibility days in their custody agreement.
The Income Shares model for Colorado child support works through the following core formula:
In basic terms, if you earn 60% of the total income and the other parent earns 40%, your child support obligation is to pay 60% of the amount required to support the child each month, while the other parent’s obligation is to supply the other 40%. Any special needs expenses are divided in the same way.
Child support calculations may also consider one parent’s contribution, such as health insurance, when determining each parent’s total obligation.
Colorado updated its child support model in 2026 to allow each parent a basic living amount before calculating their child support obligation.
The changes also eliminate the previous parenting-time credit based on which parent had the child for 93 or more nights, replacing it with a per-night credit system. Finally, the newer model applies to higher-income families that were previously exempt from the traditional formula for calculating child support.
Child support orders are binding court orders. The court will consider a modification only if the parent making the request has a significant long-term change in their financial circumstances that would alter the result of the Colorado child support calculation by 10% or more, or if the other parent has a significant change of 10% or more.
Requesting a modification requires filing a petition with the court of jurisdiction and presenting evidence supporting the requested modification to the judge. A parent may also request a modification if the child’s needs have substantially increased, for instance, due to a medical condition, accident, or special education needs.
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Child custody cases aren’t limited to Colorado divorces. Often, non-married parents seek child custody orders and child support.
A non-married mother seeking child support must first establish the father’s paternity with the court either through a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP) form or by a court-ordered paternity test. Once paternity has been established, the court can issue a formal child custody schedule and child support order based on both parents’ total combined income.
Colorado’s family courts take the parental obligation to support their child seriously. A court order for child support payment is legally enforceable. If the paying parent fails to meet their obligation and does not pay child support, the other parent may initiate enforcement methods, such as the following:
Contempt of court charges can result in punitive measures, such as fines and jail time, in addition to the above enforcement measures meant to meet the obligation.
Unless one parent requests and receives a modification of the order from a judge, a Colorado child support order remains in place and legally enforceable until the child turns 19, the state’s emancipation age.
However, a court may extend the child support obligations if the child is still in high school, but not beyond their 21st birthday, unless the child is mentally or physically disabled.
If a child joins the military or becomes married before age 19, the court considers them emancipated and ends the child support order.
Child support is a crucial aspect of divorce or for non-married parents raising children. If you are separating, divorcing, seeking child support from your child’s other parent, or facing child support orders, it’s crucial to ensure that your child support order is correctly calculated before it is signed into binding, enforceable orders.
Call or contact a child support lawyer in Boulder at Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C. for legal representation in your Colorado child support case before creating, modifying, or enforcing a child support order.
