Quick answer: Colorado decides parenting time and decision-making on the child’s best interests, with the child’s safety paramount, and its legislature encourages frequent and continuing contact with both parents. There is no presumption of equal time. For child support, every overnight earns a credit in the Parenting Time Table.
This Colorado parenting time calculator turns a schedule into overnights a year and a percentage, then reads each parent’s credit from the Parenting Time Table in C.R.S. 14-10-115(8) as amended by House Bill 25-1159. Enter the overnights in a 14-day cycle and any extra nights: the result is arithmetic, and the court decides parenting time and support.
Colorado parenting time and custody rules at a glance
| Rule | What Colorado says |
|---|---|
| Best interests | Parenting time and decision-making follow the best interests of the child, giving paramount consideration to the child’s safety (C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.5)) |
| Policy | In most circumstances it is in the best interest of all parties to encourage frequent and continuing contact between each parent and the children (14-10-124(1)) |
| Equal time | No presumption of equal time; the court weighs the listed factors, including each parent’s wishes, the child’s adjustment and the parents’ proximity |
| Restrictions | Parenting time can be restricted only on a finding of endangerment or significant impairment of emotional development, with specific findings (14-10-129(1)(b)) |
| Child support | A Parenting Time Table credits each parent for overnights, starting with the first (House Bill 25-1159) |
| Moving | Written notice as soon as practicable, with the location, reason and a proposed new parenting time plan (14-10-129(1)(a)(II)) |
How do custody and parenting time work in Colorado?
- Joint or sole decision-making. See joint versus sole decision-making in Colorado.
- Schedules. See parenting time schedules in Colorado.
- Moving with a child. See moving away with a child in Colorado.
What does this parenting time calculator check?
You enter the overnights the other parent has in a typical 14-day cycle and any extra overnights a year, such as summer and holidays. The calculator scales the cycle to 365 nights, adds the extras, and shows the overnights and percentage for each parent and the credit percentage each gets in the Parenting Time Table. It does not calculate child support: use the Colorado child support calculator for that, and the Colorado divorce timeline calculator for the dates of the case. The table counts overnights, and for children with different schedules the statute averages the overnights.
Frequently asked questions
Does Colorado presume equal parenting time?
No. The court decides on the child’s best interests, with safety paramount, though the legislature encourages frequent and continuing contact with both parents.
What is the minimum number of overnights for shared custody in Colorado?
For child support there is no minimum: the Parenting Time Table gives a credit from the first overnight. For custody, the statute sets no minimum.
Is the 92-overnight rule still the law in Colorado?
Not for child support. House Bill 25-1159 replaced the shared-care threshold with a Parenting Time Table that credits every overnight.
Can a Colorado court restrict parenting time?
Only if it finds after a hearing that the time would endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development, with specific findings.
Does this Colorado calculator set child support?
No. It counts overnights and shows the credit; the Colorado child support calculator estimates the guideline amount.
Official sources
- C.R.S. 14-10-124: best interests of the child
- C.R.S. 14-10-129: modification of parenting time; relocation
- C.R.S. 14-10-115: child support guidelines
- House Bill 25-1159: child support commission recommendations (Parenting Time Table)
- C.R.S. 14-13-201: initial child-custody jurisdiction
- C.R.S. 14-13-102: definitions, including home state