Centennial Child Custody Attorney Serving Denver & Arapahoe County

Providing Comprehensive Legal Representation to Families

Whether you are divorcing or are no longer living with your child's biological parent and need a custody determination, child custody cases can be highly emotional. At Frost & Beck, PC, our Centennial child custody attorney will help you navigate the slippery maze of child custody.

In Colorado, the standard regarding child custody and decision-making made by the courts is the best interests of the child. In determining child custody, the courts in Denver or Arapahoe County considers:

• The parents' wishes regarding parenting and decision-making
• The parents' ability to work together for the sake of their children
• The parents' physical proximity to one another
• Each parent's personal situation
• Each parent's ability to put the child's needs ahead of his or her own
• Other relevant factors

Parenting Plans That Protect Your Legal Rights and Your Child's Interests

Our child custody lawyers serving Centennial & Denver will work with you to set up a parenting plan. Parents must file with the State of Colorado for all divorcing couples with children or parties who otherwise seek a child custody determination. The parenting plan becomes an order of the court once the court approves it. The parenting plan outlines parenting time for both parents, decision-making on such custody issues as medical treatment and where the child will attend school, and vacation and holiday parenting.

It can also address visitation with extended family members, disciplinary procedures in both households and any other important factors in how you and the other parent want to parent your child.

Couples must work together to bring up their children in as normal circumstances as possible in a two-family household. You want your parenting plan to be fair to your children. However, you also want it to be suitable for you. Our family law attorneys serving Centennial & Denver will help you resolve child custody and parenting timeissues and create a child supportplan, so your children are cared for. Our custody lawyers also help parents in matters of child support enforcement.

Creating Your Parenting Plan During Custody Cases

When you create your parenting plan, it is best to outline as much as possible and as clearly as possible. This document will be the primary way the courts in Denver or Arapahoe County see how the welfare of your children is being handled and ensures that both parents work together on raising their children.

Parenting plans are always modifiable. Parents' circumstances change, children grow older, and what worked when the parenting plan was created may now be obsolete or impractical. Our custody lawyers can also file for modifications of court orders to change the amount of parenting time or how decisions are handled as your child grows.

If the custody of your children is hotly contested, the courts may order a Child and Family Investigator (CFI) or a Parental Responsibilities Evaluator (PRE) to examine your living situations, how you and your children relate to each other, and how you and the other parent can or cannot cooperate with each other, among other factors, in making recommendations to the court for a parenting plan.

Our family law lawyers serving Centennial & Denver have worked with these evaluators and can help you through the process and help you choose an evaluator you feel comfortable with.