HOW DOES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AFFECT CHILD CUSTODY IN COLORADO?
Domestic violence can change almost every part of a Colorado custody case. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent committed domestic violence, it treats the safety of the child and the abused parent as the primary concern, must impose conditions on parenting time to protect them, and will not order mutual (joint) decision-making over the other parent's objection without specific findings that it can happen safely. The same rules apply to findings of child abuse or neglect, or of a sexual assault that resulted in the child's conception.
These rules changed in 2026. HB26-1309, signed May 27, 2026, rewrote the domestic violence provisions of Colorado's custody statute and broadened the definition of domestic violence used in family cases.
This guide covers the definitions, what the court must do when abuse is claimed, protection orders, false allegations, and where to find help. Colorado calls what most people know as custody the allocation of parental responsibilities: decision-making responsibility and parenting time.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- How Colorado Defines Domestic Violence in Custody Cases
- Recent Changes to Colorado Law
- What the Court Must Do When Abuse Is Claimed
- Decision-Making After a Finding of Abuse
- Supervised Parenting Time and Other Safety Conditions
- Evidence Courts Consider
- Protection Orders and Parenting Time
- False or Exaggerated Allegations
- Safety Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Talking With a Colorado Springs Family Law Attorney
- Sources
HOW COLORADO DEFINES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN CUSTODY CASES
Since HB26-1309, the definitions used in Colorado custody cases sit in C.R.S. 14-10-103. Domestic violence now means any of the following committed by a party, whether or not the conduct is a crime:
- An act or threat of physical assault or bodily harm against the other parent or a family or household member, including a child.
- An act or threat of damage to property belonging to the other parent or a household member.
- An act or threat of harm to an animal belonging to the other parent or a household member.
- Stalking, sexual assault, coercive control, economic abuse, or human trafficking.
The definition expressly excludes behavior a parent uses to protect themself, a family or household member, or property from harm or a risk of harm presented by the other parent.
Coercive Control and Economic Abuse
Coercive control is a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions used to harm, punish, or frighten someone. The statutory examples include isolating a person from friends and family, monitoring their finances or communications, and threatening to report their immigration status.
Economic abuse is coercive, deceptive, or manipulative behavior that blocks or unreasonably controls a person's access to economic resources, such as controlling finances to create dependence or withholding necessities. Criminal cases and civil protection orders use their own definitions, so conduct can count in a custody case even if no one was charged.
RECENT CHANGES TO COLORADO LAW
Colorado has amended these rules several times since 2021. Older articles, including some still online, describe law that is no longer current.
| Bill | What it did |
|---|---|
| HB21-1228 (2021) | Required domestic violence and child abuse training for child and family investigators, parental responsibilities evaluators, and child's legal representatives, and added their domestic violence reports as a best interests factor. |
| HB23-1178 (2023) | Created C.R.S. 14-10-127.5, covering evidence of abuse, limits on reunification treatment, and training for court personnel. |
| HB24-1350 (2024) | Defined coercive control, required investigators and evaluators to report all domestic violence and child abuse information, gave strong consideration to a child's preference when abuse is alleged, and required the court to explain on the record any unsupervised parenting time ordered despite abuse information. |
| HB26-1309 (2026) | Broadened the definition of domestic violence, required findings on the record, by a preponderance of the evidence, on whether abuse occurred, repealed the old safety subsection (former 14-10-124(4)), and added new rules on decision-making and parenting time conditions. |
The 2025 statutes posted online do not yet show the 2026 changes, so the HB26-1309 session law is the place to read the current text.
WHAT THE COURT MUST DO WHEN ABUSE IS CLAIMED
Every allocation of parental responsibilities is decided under C.R.S. 14-10-124, with paramount consideration given to the child's safety and physical, mental, and emotional needs. When a party, a child and family investigator, a parental responsibilities evaluator, or the child's legal representative submits evidence that a party committed domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault resulting in the conception of the child, the court may consider any relevant and admissible evidence. That includes testimony from the parties, therapists, the department of human services, parenting time supervisors, school personnel, other professionals, and lay witnesses.
The court must then make findings on the record, by a preponderance of the evidence, on whether a party committed that conduct. A preponderance means more likely than not. An allegation by itself is not a finding.
A few other rules apply in every case where abuse is raised:
- The court may restrict parenting time only after a hearing, and only if it finds the parenting time would endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development. It must list the specific findings that support the restriction.
- A parent's actions to protect the child from witnessing domestic violence, or from abuse or neglect, are not held against that parent on the factor about encouraging the child's relationship with the other parent.
- If the court orders unsupervised parenting time despite information that the parent committed domestic violence or child abuse, including a child's own accusation, it must explain on the record why that serves the child's best interests.
DECISION-MAKING AFTER A FINDING OF ABUSE
Decision-making responsibility is the authority to make major decisions for the child. Under the 2026 amendments, if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a party committed domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault resulting in conception, mutual decision-making is not in the child's best interests over the objection of the other party or the child's legal representative.
The only exception is when the court makes specific findings that mutual decision-making can occur without coercion, intimidation, retaliation, or risk of harm to the abused party or the child. The court also may not appoint a parenting coordinator just to make shared decision-making workable.
Sexual Assault Resulting in Conception
One earlier rule did not carry over in the same form. Before HB26-1309, the former subsection (4) of C.R.S. 14-10-124 created a rebuttable presumption against giving sole or split decision-making to a parent found to have committed a sexual assault that resulted in the child's conception. The act repealed that subsection without restating that presumption.
The new text still covers that conduct: a finding triggers the bar on mutual decision-making over objection, the parenting time conditions described below, and the duty to consider prohibiting or restricting that parent's parenting time. Because the change is recent, how courts will weigh it in allocating decision-making is still developing.
Separately, under C.R.S. 19-5-105.5, a parent who conceived a child as a result of sexual assault may ask the juvenile court to terminate the other parent's rights. That remedy requires a conviction for the assault and proof by clear and convincing evidence.
SUPERVISED PARENTING TIME AND OTHER SAFETY CONDITIONS
A finding of domestic violence does not automatically end the offending parent's parenting time. Instead, once the court finds domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault resulting in conception, the safety and well-being of the child and the abused party become the primary concern, and the court must impose conditions on parenting time that keep them safe.
Those conditions may include:
- Limiting contact between the parents to what the court considers safe.
- Requiring exchanges of the child in a protected setting chosen by the court.
- Supervised parenting time, or restrictions on overnight parenting time.
- No alcohol or controlled substances during parenting time or for 24 hours before it.
- Keeping the address of the child or a parent confidential.
- Any other condition the court finds necessary to protect the child, a parent, or a household member.
- Paying child support through the state registry as a nondisclosure case, so the parents do not need to be in contact about payments.
The court may also order the offending parent to complete a domestic violence evaluation and, if the evaluation recommends it, treatment at that parent's own expense, with progress reports. It must consider whether it is in the child's best interests to prohibit or restrict that parent's parenting time.
If the abused parent left the home because of the other parent's conduct, that absence cannot be counted against them. Questions about support arrangements in these cases are worth raising with a Colorado Springs child support lawyer early.
Limits on Reunification Treatment
Under C.R.S. 14-10-127.5, when abuse is claimed the court may not remove a child from a protective parent, or restrict that parent's contact, solely to improve the child's relationship with the other parent. It may not order reunification treatment without generally accepted and scientifically valid proof of its safety and effectiveness, or any treatment based on cutting the child off from the protective parent.
After HB26-1309, an order addressing a child's resistance to contact with a parent the court has found committed domestic violence or child abuse must address that parent's behavior. That parent must show genuine accountability and sustained behavioral change, and must comply with any court-ordered treatment to exercise parenting time. The treatment must be with a licensed master's or doctoral level mental health professional trained in domestic violence and child abuse, and a program that is self-directed, not in real time, or an anger management course does not qualify.
EVIDENCE COURTS CONSIDER
C.R.S. 14-10-127.5 requires the court to consider evidence of past abuse, including protection orders, arrests, and convictions, as well as evidence of coercive control. It also requires the court to consider admitting professional testimony from witnesses with experience working with victims of domestic violence or child abuse, not only forensic experience.
Court-appointed professionals must report what they learn. A child and family investigator under C.R.S. 14-10-116.5 and a parental responsibilities evaluator under C.R.S. 14-10-127 must include all information they acquire about domestic violence and child abuse, regardless of who provided it, including a child. Our article on whether your child needs a lawyer explains those roles.
When abuse has been alleged, the court must also give strong consideration to a child's stated preference if it is consistent with the child's safety and needs. In practice, useful evidence often includes:
- Police reports, protection order filings, and criminal case records.
- Medical records and photographs of injuries or property damage.
- Texts, emails, voicemails, and social media messages.
- Bank records showing financial control.
- Testimony from people who saw the conduct or its effects, and records from counselors or schools.
PROTECTION ORDERS AND PARENTING TIME
A civil protection order is a separate case under Title 13. Under C.R.S. 13-14-104.5, a judge may issue a temporary order on finding a risk or threat of physical harm, or a threat of psychological or emotional harm, and the hearing on a permanent order must be set within 14 days. The temporary order hearing may happen without the other party present.
Under C.R.S. 13-14-105, a county court issuing a temporary protection order must, at either party's request, award temporary care and control of the parties' children for up to one year, with an exception when another court already has exclusive jurisdiction over the children. The order may set parenting time with conditions, including supervision, and may deny parenting time if no reasonably available arrangement would keep the child or the protected party safe. Temporary care and control is decided under the best interests standard of C.R.S. 14-10-124.
Under C.R.S. 13-14-109, the court may not charge a filing fee to a petitioner seeking protection as a victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual violence. Our Colorado Springs protection order lawyers can explain the process.
If there is already a parenting plan and a child is in imminent physical or emotional danger, a parent can file an emergency motion under C.R.S. 14-10-129. Parenting time is supervised until the hearing, and the court must rule within 14 days. Our guide to emergency custody orders in Colorado covers that process.
FALSE OR EXAGGERATED ALLEGATIONS
The law requires the court to make findings on abuse claims by a preponderance of the evidence. That requirement also matters to a parent who is falsely accused, because an allegation alone is not a finding and the court must decide what is more likely true based on admissible evidence.
Colorado also has a specific penalty for misuse of the emergency process. If the court finds that an emergency motion to restrict parenting time was substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious, C.R.S. 14-10-129 requires the moving party to pay the other party's reasonable attorney fees and costs.
If you are accused, follow every order, keep communication brief and in writing, do not retaliate, and gather the records that show what actually happened. Our Colorado Springs child custody lawyers represent parents on both sides of these cases.
SAFETY RESOURCES
If you or your children are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.
The Colorado Department of Human Services keeps a domestic violence resource page that lists the national hotline and points to Colorado organizations that can connect you with local advocacy services. Local advocacy programs can help with safety planning, separate from any legal case.
For more on custody, support, and protection orders, browse our family law articles, or start with our overview of Colorado custody laws.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does a Domestic Violence Finding Mean the Other Parent Loses All Parenting Time?
Not automatically. In Colorado, after a finding by a preponderance of the evidence, the court must impose parenting time conditions that protect the child and the abused parent, such as supervised parenting time, and must consider whether to prohibit or restrict the offending parent's parenting time.
What Standard of Proof Applies to Domestic Violence in a Colorado Custody Case?
Preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. The court must make findings on the record on whether a party committed domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault resulting in conception.
Can Parents Share Decision-Making After Domestic Violence?
Usually not. In Colorado, if the court finds that a parent committed domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault resulting in conception, mutual decision-making is not in the child's best interests over the objection of the other parent or the child's legal representative, unless the court makes specific findings that it can occur without coercion, intimidation, retaliation, or risk of harm.
Does Coercive Control Count as Domestic Violence in Colorado Custody Cases?
Yes. Since HB26-1309, the family law definition of domestic violence includes coercive control and economic abuse, whether or not the conduct is a crime.
What Happens If a Parent Files a Groundless Emergency Motion?
Under C.R.S. 14-10-129, if the court finds that an emergency motion to restrict parenting time was substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious, the parent who filed it must be ordered to pay the other parent's reasonable attorney fees and costs.
Can a Protection Order Decide Who Has the Children?
Temporarily. In Colorado, a county court issuing a temporary civil protection order must, at either party's request, award temporary care and control of the children for up to one year and can set parenting time conditions. The longer-term allocation of parental responsibilities is decided in a domestic relations case.
TALKING WITH A COLORADO SPRINGS FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY
When safety is part of a custody case, the order of steps matters: a protection order, an emergency motion, or a full allocation case may each be the right starting point. A lawyer can help you choose and prepare the evidence the court will need.
Moran, Allen & Associates Family Law Attorneys represents parents throughout El Paso and Teller counties. You can learn more about our Colorado Springs family law practice, read more articles on custody and family safety, call (719) 447-0762 in Colorado Springs or (719) 686-7554 in Woodland Park, or schedule a free consultation.
This article is general information about Colorado law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Laws and procedures change, and the 2026 amendments may be interpreted by the courts, so speak with a licensed Colorado attorney about your own situation.
SOURCES
- C.R.S. 14-10-103, Definitions (2025 text; amended by HB26-1309)
- C.R.S. 14-10-124, Best Interests of the Child (2025 text; amended by HB26-1309)
- C.R.S. 14-10-127.5, Domestic Violence Evidence, Reunification Limits, and Training
- C.R.S. 14-10-116.5, Child and Family Investigators
- C.R.S. 14-10-127, Parental Responsibilities Evaluations
- C.R.S. 14-10-129, Modification and Emergency Restriction of Parenting Time
- C.R.S. 19-5-105.5, Termination of Parental Rights After Sexual Assault Resulting in Conception
- C.R.S. 13-14-104.5, Temporary Civil Protection Orders
- C.R.S. 13-14-105, Provisions of Civil Protection Orders
- C.R.S. 13-14-109, Protection Order Fees and Costs
- HB26-1309, Abuse in Cases of Separation (2026)
- HB26-1309 Session Law, Chapter 163 (2026)
- HB24-1350, Standards for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities Proceedings (2024)
- HB21-1228, Domestic Violence Training for Court Personnel (2021)
- Colorado Department of Human Services, Domestic Violence Survivor Resources