Colorado Grandparents' Rights: Family Time Law After the 2023 Recodification

A fit parent's decision about a grandparent's contact with a grandchild is presumed correct under Colorado law, and grandparents do not have an automatic right to what Colorado now calls «family time.» Anyone researching this topic in Colorado needs to know one thing before anything else: the law was substantially rewritten in 2023, and older sources citing the previous statute numbers are describing repealed law.

Information last verified on 2026-08-12. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

The 2023 Recodification: Why Old Citations No Longer Apply

Colorado's legislature recodified its entire grandparent-visitation framework through House Bill 23-1026, signed May 23, 2023, and effective August 7, 2023. The bill did two things at once: it repealed the older Title 19 sections, Colo. Rev. Stat. Sections 19-1-117 and 19-1-117.5, and it moved the substantive law to Title 14, alongside Colorado's other domestic-relations statutes. The recodification also changed the terminology itself, from «visitation» to «family time,» a shift that matters when searching for the current law or reading older Colorado family-court paperwork.

Anyone who finds a source, a form, or an older article citing Section 19-1-117 for grandparent visitation is looking at repealed law. The statute that actually governs a petition filed today is Colo. Rev. Stat. Section 14-10-124.4, with enforcement addressed separately in Section 14-10-124.5.

What the Current Law Requires

Under Section 14-10-124.4, the court must presume that a parent's own determination about grandparent family time serves the child's best interest. A grandparent or great-grandparent seeking to overcome that presumption must do so with clear and convincing evidence, a genuinely demanding standard.

Standing is narrower than many readers expect. Subsection (3) allows a petition only when there is or has been a child custody case, or a case concerning the allocation of parental responsibilities, with respect to that child. The statute then defines three situations that count as such a case: the marriage of the child's parents has been declared invalid, has been dissolved, or has been made the subject of a decree of legal separation; legal custody of or parental responsibilities with respect to the child have been given or allocated to a party other than the child's parent, or the child has been placed outside of and does not reside in the home of the child's parent; or the child's parent, who is the grandparent's own child, has died. A grandparent of a child living at home with both parents under no court order does not have standing to file.

The clear-and-convincing standard is not the whole test either. Section 14-10-124.4(4) directs that, in making the best-interests determination, the court must consider the factors described in Section 14-10-124(1.5)(a), the same list that governs parenting time generally. Those factors include the wishes of the child's parents; the wishes of the child if the child is mature enough to express a reasoned and independent preference; the child's interaction and interrelationship with parents, siblings, and anyone else who may significantly affect the child's best interests; the child's adjustment to home, school, and community; the mental and physical health of everyone involved; each party's ability to encourage contact between the child and the other party; whether the past pattern of involvement reflects a system of values, time commitment, and mutual support; the physical proximity of the parties; and each party's ability to place the child's needs ahead of their own.

This presumption structure is Colorado's own answer to the same constitutional concern the U.S. Supreme Court raised in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000): a fit parent's own judgment about who spends time with the child deserves real legal deference, not a court's independent guess at what would be nice for the child. Colorado wrote that deference directly into both the old and new versions of its statute, which is part of why the 2023 recodification was a legislative modernization rather than a response to a court striking the law down.

Custody Is a Separate Track

Colorado does not give grandparents a purpose-built custody statute. A grandparent who wants an allocation of parental responsibilities uses the same general nonparent routes as any other nonparent, under Colo. Rev. Stat. Section 14-10-123: a person other than a parent may file where the child is not in the physical care of one of the child's parents, or where that person had physical care of the child for 182 days or more and files within 182 days after that care ended.

Section 14-10-123.3 is often mistaken for a grandparent custody statute, but it grants no standing and creates no cause of action. Its entire text is a screening directive: whenever a grandparent seeks parental responsibility for a grandchild under this article, the court must consider any credible evidence of the grandparent's past conduct of child abuse or neglect, which may include medical records, school records, police reports, and child-welfare records. It is an added burden on grandparent petitioners rather than a route created for them. Custody remains a legally distinct and generally harder track than family time. For more, see Can Grandparents Get Custody? and Colorado child custody laws.

What Happens if the Grandchild Is Adopted

Section 14-10-124.4(3)(b) excludes a child who has been placed for adoption, or whose adoption has been legally finalized, from at least one of the statute's standing triggers, which indicates that adoption generally cuts off standing to file under that provision. Whether Colorado law carves out a stepparent-adoption exception, the way several nearby states do, was not confirmed for this guide. Treat this as an open question rather than a settled rule, and confirm the current text with an attorney if this scenario applies to your family.

How to Petition for Grandparent Family Time in Colorado

A grandparent family-time case is filed in the district court for the district in which the child resides, and filing is conditional on one of the standing circumstances above rather than an open, any-time petition. Under Section 14-10-124.4(4), the grandparent submits a petition together with an affidavit setting forth the facts supporting the requested order, and gives notice, with a copy of that affidavit, to each party involved in the parental-responsibilities proceedings. Those parties may file opposing affidavits. If neither party requests a hearing, the court may rule on the affidavits alone; a hearing must be held if either party requests one or if it appears to the court that a hearing is in the child's best interests. The court may also appoint a legal representative for the child under Section 14-10-116. No official statewide fee schedule was located for this filing, so confirm the current cost with the district court where you plan to file.

Two limits in Section 14-10-124.4(6) matter before anyone files. A grandparent or great-grandparent may not file a petition seeking family time more than once every two years absent a showing of good cause, so a petition brought too early on weak facts can foreclose a stronger one later. And the court may order reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party, which means an unsuccessful petition can cost more than the filing fee.

Section 14-10-124.4 sets out no mediation step before a contested family-time hearing. Mediation enters the process later: under Section 14-10-124.5(1)(c), when a grandparent who already holds a family-time order alleges that the other party is not complying with it, the court may require the parties to seek mediation under Section 13-22-305 and report back on the results within sixty days. At a contested hearing on the original petition, the grandparent bears the burden of producing clear and convincing evidence, which typically means detailed, specific testimony and documentation about the prior relationship rather than general statements about wanting more contact.

The clear-and-convincing presumption in Colorado's current law is a real barrier, and mediation or a direct conversation with the parent is worth attempting before filing anything, both to save time and expense and because contested litigation is adversarial toward the child's parent by nature. If a family does move forward, a family-law attorney licensed in Colorado can confirm the case is grounded in the current Title 14 statute rather than the repealed Title 19 provisions, and explain realistically what the clear-and-convincing standard will require.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Colorado grandparent family-time and custody law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case outcomes depend heavily on individual facts. Verify current statutory text and consult a licensed Colorado family-law attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

Related Articles

• Grandparents' Rights by State
• Grandparent Visitation Rights
• Can Grandparents Get Custody?
• Colorado Child Custody Laws
• Colorado Divorce Laws

---

Last updated: 2026-08-12.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Colorado's grandparent visitation statute still called Section 19-1-117?

No. That citation was repealed by HB 23-1026, effective August 7, 2023. The current law lives at Colo. Rev. Stat. Section 14-10-124.4, and the term used is «family time,» not visitation.

What must a Colorado grandparent prove to get family time over a parent's objection?

The court presumes the parent's decision serves the child's best interest, and the grandparent must overcome that presumption with clear and convincing evidence.

When can a grandparent file for family time in Colorado?

Only when there is or has been a child custody case or a parental-responsibilities case involving that child. Section 14-10-124.4(3) counts three situations: the parents' marriage was declared invalid, dissolved, or made the subject of a legal-separation decree; legal custody or parental responsibilities were allocated to a party other than the child's parent, or the child lives outside a parent's home; or the child's parent, who is the grandparent's own child, has died. A grandparent of a child living at home with both parents under no court order has no standing. A petition may also be filed only once every two years absent good cause.

Does Colorado have a custody statute specifically for grandparents?

No. A grandparent seeking an allocation of parental responsibilities uses the general nonparent provisions of Colo. Rev. Stat. Section 14-10-123. Section 14-10-123.3 is sometimes mistaken for a grandparent custody statute, but it grants no standing; it directs the court to consider any credible evidence of the grandparent's past conduct of child abuse or neglect when a grandparent seeks parental responsibility.

Does adoption end a grandparent's family time rights in Colorado?

Adoption generally cuts off at least one standing trigger under Section 14-10-124.4(3)(b). Whether a stepparent-adoption exception exists was not confirmed for this guide and should be checked with an attorney.

Was Colorado's grandparent visitation law struck down by a court?

No. Unlike Alabama or Arkansas, Colorado's presumption-based structure was a legislative choice from the outset, later modernized by the 2023 recodification rather than rebuilt after a court invalidation.