The order is clear. The other parent ignores it anyway: late exchanges, canceled weekends, a child who is "sick" every time your parenting time begins. Colorado treats a parenting plan as what it is — a court order — and gives the parent whose time is being withheld real remedies.
The Fast-Track Motion
C.R.S. § 14-10-129.5 provides a dedicated procedure for parenting time disputes. A parent alleging that the other has not complied with the parenting time order files a verified motion, and the statute directs the court to act on a tight timeline — either deciding the motion on the papers, referring the parties to mediation, or setting a hearing promptly. The procedure exists because parenting time disputes cannot wait for the ordinary motion calendar.
The Remedies
If the court finds a violation, the statute authorizes a range of orders, alone or in combination:
- Additional terms and conditions consistent with the existing order, to make compliance clearer
- Modification of the prior order to the extent it serves the child's best interests
- Makeup parenting time for the time wrongfully denied, of the same type and duration
- A requirement that the violating parent attend a parenting education program
- Family counseling at the violating parent's expense
- Posting of a bond to secure future compliance
- Civil contempt, with the fines or incarceration that remedy carries
- Any other order that promotes the child's best interests
Attorney Fees Are Presumed
The statute also addresses the cost of enforcement. When the court finds that a parent has not complied with the parenting time order, it is directed to award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the prevailing parent unless it finds that an award would be inappropriate. That presumption changes the economics of non-compliance: a parent who withholds time is not merely risking makeup time, but paying for both sides of the fight.
Two Practical Notes
First, document everything. Enforcement cases are won on records: dates and times of missed exchanges, text messages canceling parenting time, a log kept contemporaneously rather than reconstructed later. Communicate in writing, and communicate in a tone that reads well when a judge reviews it.
Second, do not self-help. Parents who are denied parenting time are sometimes tempted to stop paying child support in response. That is a serious mistake. Child support and parenting time are independent obligations in Colorado; a violation of one does not excuse the other. Withholding support converts a strong enforcement case into two weak ones, and the parent who was wronged becomes the parent in contempt.
Consistent Enforcement Beats an Explosive Filing
The parent who responds to the first violations with a clear written record and, if the pattern continues, a prompt motion is in a far stronger position than the parent who tolerates a year of violations and then files an omnibus motion cataloging every grievance. Courts respond to patterns that are documented and to parents who sought help early. They are less receptive to a flood of accumulated complaints, however justified.
When Enforcement Is Not Enough
A persistent pattern of interference with parenting time can also support a modification of the parenting plan, because a parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent is itself a best-interests factor. In serious cases, the enforcement record becomes the foundation for a change in the allocation of parental responsibilities.
Talk to a Denver Divorce Attorney Who Handles Complex Estates
Aaron Herzberg is a divorce attorney in Greenwood Village, Colorado, serving Denver and the Front Range, with more than 30 years of trial experience and a practice focused on high-net-worth and financially complex divorce. When a parenting order is being ignored, the right response is prompt, documented, and proportionate.
Request a Consultation or call 303-507-5529
This publication is attorney advertising. It is educational information only, it is not legal advice, and it may not reflect the most current legal developments. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship exists until a conflicts check is complete and both parties have signed a written engagement agreement.
Read the full guides on DenverDivorce.com: Enforcement & Contempt in Colorado and Parenting Time in Colorado.
