--Beth Padilla

Often times grandparents serve a critical role in their grandchildren’s lives. Unfortunately, when parents go through a divorce, a grandparent’s ability to continue his or her relationship with the grandchildren can suffer. In Colorado, a grandparent may file a motion to intervene and request grandparent visitation in certain types of cases. Specifically, C.R.S. 19-1-117 allows a grandparent or a great-grandparent to ask the Court for reasonable visitation rights if there has been a child custody case (which can include a divorce or custody case between unmarried parents).
 
If the grandparent decides to seek a Court order for visitation, he will likely need to file a motion to intervene first. If the motion to intervene is granted, the grandparent becomes  a party to the child custody proceeding. Then, the grandparent must file specific documents to request Court ordered visitation.
 
Many grandparents do not want to be a party to his or her child’s divorce case. Sometimes grandparents choose to hire an attorney and try to negotiate grandparent visitation with the parents. If that is successful, the parents can file a notice with the Court indicating they agree to the grandparent visitation.
 
Child custody proceedings and divorces are hard for the entire family. Ensuring grandparents continue to have contact with their grandchildren can be very important to families. 

-- Beth Padilla

Are you caring for a child pursuant to a guardianship? Are you a grandparent who has custody of his grandchildren? Sometimes, families decide that adoption is the best option for children and seek to terminate the parent's parental rights.

In Colorado, an individual may file a motion to terminate a parent’s parental rights under limited circumstances, pursuant to C.R.S. 19-5-203(1)(j). First, it is important to understand that it is against public policy for a parent’s parental rights to be terminated unless some other adult is going to adopt the child. For example, if a mother files a motion to terminate the parental rights of the father, but there is no other adult willing to take the father’s parental rights, the Court is likely to deny the motion.
 
A parent’s parental rights may be terminated if the parent has failed without good cause to provide financial support to the child or has abandoned the child for a year or more. Filing a petition to terminate a parent’s rights on this basis is not a guarantee that the Court will grant the motion and a hearing is required. The person seeking the termination must serve the parent with all of the paperwork and the parent will have an opportunity to tell the Court why his or her rights should not be terminated.
 
If a person is successful in terminating a parent’s parental rights, the person may then seek to adopt the child. Private terminations and adoptions are a complicated part of the law and seeking legal representation can be helpful.