Creating a Parenting Plan

Co-parenting after a divorce or a break-up does not need to be chaotic and complicated. A well-crafted parenting plan gives your children consistency and provides both parents with a roadmap for the future. When written effectively, a Parenting Plan can help reduce conflict and allow parties to co-parent (or parallel parent) effectively. Although Parenting Plans cannot account for everything that comes up and often change as children get older, it is important to think about the future, so you do not have to constantly re-write your parenting plan every few months or years.

What is a Parenting Plan?

A Parenting Plan is a legally binding document that outlines how parenting time will be split, how decisions for your children will be made, and how your child will be financially supported that is filed into a divorce or custody case and becomes an enforceable court order.

Key Parts to Include in a Parenting Plan

1. Parenting Time

   1. Weekly parenting time schedule

   2. How exchanges and transportation will occur

   3. Holidays and Vacations

   4. School Breaks

   5. Telephone/video contact with the other parent

2. Decision-Making Responsibilities 

   1. Education

   2. Medical, dental, orthodontic and vision decisions

   3. Mental health

   4. Religion

   5. Extracurricular activities

3. Communication

   1. How will communication between the parents typically occur (text, email, parenting application)

   2. How will communication occur for emergencies

   3. How will extracurricular activity schedules and important events be shared (example- shared calendar)

   4. How will communication with the children occur

4. Dispute Resolution- how you will resolve future issues when there is a disagreement

   1. Mediation

   2. Arbitration

   3. Parenting Coordinator

   4. Decision Maker

5. Child Support

   1. Monthly child support amount

   2. Who will cover the cost of health, dental, and vision insurance for the children

   3. How will uninsured medical expenses be shared

   4. How will educational expenses be shared

   5. How will mutually-agreed upon extracurricular expenses be shared

How to Create a Successful Parenting Plan

1. Be Specific

It is important to be specific in a Parenting Plan. For example, it is a good idea to include exact exchange times and locations for all pick-ups and drop-offs. Also, it is important to include major holidays that you and your family want to celebrate. Many parents alternate major holidays based on even/odd years; however, this does not work for all families. Another area that we often see conflict is how to handle snow/sick days. Make sure to clearly address this in a parenting plan, so there is less conflict when these days occur.  It is okay to make minor deviations from the Parenting Plan if both parties agree to do so in writing but you should have specifics to fall back on when there is a disagreement.

2. Keep the Children’s Best Interest in Mind

Remember that a parenting plan is about your children, so it must focus on your children’s best interests. Perhaps you like a week/on, week-off schedule; however, your children do better when they see both parents every few days. It is important that you step back and consider what is best for our children versus focusing on what works best for your schedule.

3. Plan for Growth

As we know, children grow FAST! With this in mind, you want to plan for your children growing in your parenting plan. Some tips include building in age-based schedule adjustments or stepped-up parenting time schedules for young children and/or a transition plan for teens. For young children, we often find that continuing and frequent contact with both parents works well for many young children; however, many teenagers do not do well with constant transitions and might do better with a week-on/week-off schedule. 

Consider events that seem far away, including when/if children will get cell phones and their driver’s license. How will car insurance be split and how with their car be paid for? These are often big areas where we see disagreements, so it is often helpful to start thinking about these ahead of time. 

Another area to plan for is to account for flexibility for after-school activities and school demands. As children get older, their schedules often get busier, so it is important to account for days that they have activities and remain flexible when these changes occur.

Tips for Reducing Conflict

1. Keep communication in writing and professional

Many parents find that it helps to keep all communication with the other parent in writing, except for emergencies. Also, many parents benefit from using a co-parenting app, such as Talking Parents or OurFamilyWizard. Keep in mind that most communication can be used in Court, so it is helpful to pretend that a judicial officer is reading the message before you send it to the other parent. All communication should be short and professional to help encourage a positive co-parenting relationship.  See our previous blog post on creating healthy communication boundaries.

2. Avoid using the children as messengers

It is important that parents not rely on their children to communicate messages to the other parent. This can be stressful for children and put them in the middle of a situation. Similarly, speaking negatively about the other parent to the children or within their presence is often detrimental to your child’s well-being. Any issues should be addressed directly with the other parent. 

3. Be flexible when life happens

It is important that you remain flexible. Life happens and co-parenting is not always a linear path. With this in mind, if the other parent is continuously trying to deviate from the parenting plan, it may be helpful to speak with an attorney about helping to enforce the parenting plan.

4. Schedule a time every year or so for you and the other parent to meet/discuss any changes that might need to be made to the current parenting plan 

It is important to have an open dialogue with the other parent and address issues that no longer work in your parenting plan. As children grow, parenting plans often have to grow with the child. Scheduling a time every year to address this, can be helpful for many parents.  This is not recommended, however, in cases where there is domestic violence, including coercive control.

If you would like assistance in crafting a Parenting Plan, we are here to help!

Why Both Spouses Should be on the Title of a Marital Home in Colorado

If you are married in Colorado and your name is not on the title or mortgage of your home, you are taking a serious risk -- one that could cost you your largest asset without warning. This is because when only one spouse is listed on the title and the mortgage of the marital home, only that person will receive notice if the marital home is being foreclosed upon. 

Here is an example of why that can be problematic: Let’s say Husband is the only spouse listed on the title and mortgage of the marital home. If Husband stops paying the mortgage and allows the home to foreclose, Wife will never receive any notice. This is because in Colorado, foreclosure notices have to be sent to people with a recorded legal interest in the property -- which would include the borrower on the mortgage, and the people on the recorded title or deed. See C.R.C.P. 120. However, there is no legal duty for a lender to notify parties that do not have a recorded interest in the property being foreclosed. Whether you are a spouse to a person who has a recorded legal interest is irrelevant, despite the fact that you may have marital interest in the property; you are not entitled to notice if your name is not listed on deed or loan. 

Why is notice important? If your spouse allows the marital home to foreclose, you likely will not know what is happening until the home is already sold. Once the foreclosure sale goes through, you will completely lose any right or claim to your marital home -- even if the home would have been considered marital property. It does not matter if you have the ability to remedy or cure the foreclosure -- once the home is sold, the time has passed in which you can address this situation. 

Will an automatic temporary injunction from divorce proceedings prevent the foreclosure sale? Not necessarily. The automatic temporary injunction in Colorado divorce cases is designed to keep spouses from selling, transferring, or concealing marital property during divorce, per C.R.S.§ 14-10-107(4)(b)(1)(A). However, the temporary injunction does not prevent third parties from enforcing their rights. A mortgage lender is not bound by the temporary injunction as they are not a party to the divorce proceedings, and is free to foreclose on a home that is failing to pay the mortgage.  While allowing the home to be foreclosed upon is a violation by the spouse, once it happens, that asset is gone.

What can I do if I am not currently on the title of my marital home? Thankfully, having your interest in the marital home recorded is a relatively quick and easy process. You will need to have your spouse who is currently on the title sign a quitclaim deed titling the home to both of you. A quitclaim deed will legally record your interest in the marital home, which will require lenders to notify you if they are foreclosing on the home.  After notarization, the quitclaim deed will need to be turned into the Clerk and Recorder’s office in the county that the home is located in. Congratulations -- your interest in the marital home is now legally protected!

If you are married and your name is not on the title of your marital home, it is worth taking the steps and secure your property rights. Taking these steps now could be the difference between keeping your share of the marital home and possibly losing one of your largest assets forever.

What is a CFI, and why did the Court Appoint One in my Case?

If you are currently in a child custody or decision-making dispute, your attorney may suggest, or the Court may appoint a Child Family Investigator (or "CFI") to your case. The CFI is a neutral third-party investigator with outside expertise, particularly in family law or psychology, who will investigate a family unit to provide more information and recommendations on specific issues within the case.  

Why was a CFI assigned to my case?

A CFI may have been appointed to your family law case if there are substantial issues related to parental responsibilities. When the Court needs more information to make decisions about parenting time, decision making, or determining the best interests of a child, a CFI appointment may be appropriate.  

What does a CFI do?

The CFI conducts interviews, talks to collateral witnesses, gathers evidence, and provides a report with recommendations to help the Court understand the family dynamics and what arrangement will support the child’s wellbeing. The Court appointing a CFI will set forth the CFI’s duties in a written order of appointment. From there, a CFI will typically conduct their investigation by holding interviews with both parents and all children of the relationship, as well as conducting a home visit with the child present in both homes and reviewing information provided by the parties.

The CFI may contact outside sources, such as family, friends, teachers, or physicians, to obtain relevant information necessary for their report. This usually occurs after both parents have been interviewed and had a home visit. 

Once their investigation is complete, the CFI will draft a report detailing all of their observations and recommendations. The CFI will then file their report directly to the Court. Since CFI’s are appointed by the Court, their report automatically comes into evidence, but it is usually still helpful to have them testify at hearing.

What a CFI does NOT do:

The CFI does not represent any parties to the case, including parents. The CFI merely serves as a third-party, neutral investigator. 

Under C.R.S. 14-10-116.5 (1), the same CFI may not serve as both the legal representative of the child or decision-maker and as the CFI. The child is not a client of the CFI. Instead, the CFI acts as a neutral third party to the Court, providing an expert opinion on what they believe is in the best interest of the child. 

Furthermore, the CFI is not able to call witnesses or present evidence at hearing.  It is up to the attorneys or unrepresented parties to do so. The recommendations that the CFI provides in their final report are NOT court orders; the CFI report is simply a recommendation that the Court will consider when issuing their ruling. Furthermore, the parties to the case do not have to accept the CFI’s recommendations – you are permitted to argue against them and provide your own evidence to refute the CFI’s recommendations or even have a work product review conducted to challenge their report.

What can you do?

Paying the retainer for the CFI should be the first thing you do after appointment. The Court will determine who among the parties is expected to pay for the CFI, unless the parties can agree to it themselves. The CFI will require a retainer to be paid before they begin their investigation. Costs associated with retaining a CFI are capped at $3,159, with additional fees incurred if the CFI is asked to appear at a hearing or has to travel to conduct home visits as part of their investigation. Parties who can prove they are indigent may have their share of the costs paid for by the state by filling out an Application for a State Paid Professional (JDF 208).

After paying the retainer, you will want to schedule your intake and home visit with the CFI – this is your responsibility! The CFI will not reach out to you first to schedule interviews or home visits. The Court expects YOU to do this. 

You will also receive an intake packet from the CFI, which you will be expected to complete and return by the deadline the CFI provides. Include ALL and ANY relevant information or evidence in your case; this includes phone records, text messages, emails, pictures, journal entries, parenting plans, etc. You may also include statements that your child has made to you that you believe the CFI should be aware of – this is your chance to provide the CFI with information that would be considered “hearsay” in other circumstances.  As a court-appointed expert the CFI is able to testify about things the child and other witnesses say to them if they rely on this information in part of making their expert recommendations.

During your meeting with the CFI, you should be prepared to discuss each party’s involvement in the case. It is essential that you are prepared to provide the CFI with a comprehensive, chronological timeline of your relationship with the other parent and your child. DO NOT focus on how bad the other parent is – in fact, you should make an effort to highlight a few good things about the other parent. 

During home interviews, the CFI will make additional observations regarding the children's living conditions and their dynamic with their parent. Specifically, the CFI will be asking themselves if your home environment serves the child’s best interest. Factors that the CFI will consider when determining the child’s best interest are governed by C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.5)(a), and are as follows:

i) The wishes of the child's parents as to parenting time; 

ii) The wishes of the child, if they are sufficiently mature to express reasoned and independent preferences as to the parenting time schedule; 

iii) The interaction and interrelationship of the child with their parents, their siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interests; 

iii.5)  Any report related to domestic violence that is submitted to the court by a child and family investigator, if one is appointed pursuant to section 14-10-116.5; a professional parental responsibilities evaluator, if one is appointed pursuant to section 14-10-127; or a legal representative of the child, if one is appointed pursuant to section 14-10-116. The court may consider other testimony regarding domestic violence from the parties, experts, therapists for any parent or child, the department of human services, parenting time supervisors, school personnel, or other lay witnesses.

iv) The child's adjustment to their home, school, and community; 

v) The mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability alone shall not be a basis to deny or restrict parenting time; 

vi) The ability of the parties to encourage the sharing of love, affection, and contact between the child and the other party; except that, if the Court determines that a party is acting to protect the child from witnessing domestic violence or from being a victim of child abuse or neglect or domestic violence, the party's protective actions shall not be considered with respect to this factor; 

vii) Whether the past pattern of involvement of the parties with the child reflects a system of values, time commitment, and mutual support; 

vii) The physical proximity of the parties to each other, as this relates to the practical considerations of parenting time; 

ix & x) Repealed;

xi) The ability of each party to place the needs of the child ahead of their own needs.

The CFI may contact outside sources such as family, friends, teachers, caretakers, therapists or physicians, to obtain relevant information necessary for their report. This usually occurs after both parents have been interviewed and had a home visit. 

Once their investigation is complete, the CFI will draft a report detailing their observations and recommendations. The CFI will then file their report directly to the Court. 

Throughout the process, you are encouraged to be open and honest with the CFI. Remember: the CFI is not your attorney and therefore will not provide you with attorney-client privilege. However, it is essential to keep in mind that the CFI is not necessarily working against you – they are working to serve the best interests of your child. Being honest with the CFI will allow the CFI to make recommendations that serve the best interests of your child, whereas misleading or withholding information can damage your credibility and potentially affect the  outcome in the case.