Psychological Parents and Child Support

• Publication year: 2022
• Pages: 24

51 Colo.Law. 24 Psychological Parents and Child Support No. Vol. 51, No. 10 [Page 24] Colorado Lawyer November, 2022

The composition of American families has transformed dramatically over the past century. The traditional nuclear family household has been largely replaced by nontraditional family structures. It is becoming less common for children to be raised by two biological, married parents, and more common for children to be raised by at least one non-biologically related individual.'

The term "psychological parent" describes "someone other than a biological parent who develops a parent-child relationship with a child through day-to-day interaction, companionship, and caring for the child."^[2] Despite the changing landscape of American families, a psychological parent generally does not have the same ability as a biological or adoptive parent to seek an allocation of parental responsibilities.^[3] But Colorado courts are starting to place greater importance on the role of psychological parents in children's lives and have recently assigned parental responsibilities to individuals who have consistently acted as biological parents.^[4] This expanding acceptance of the psychological parent's role highlights the judiciary's recognition of the importance of psychological parenting and its relationship to the best interests of the child.^[5]

A psychological parent who has standing and meets the criteria under CRS § 14-10-123 may file a petition for allocation of parental responsibilities (APR) and seek an order for parenting time and decision-making over the child. Likewise, psychological parents may be obligated to financially support a child over whom they seek parental rights. By expanding the scope of who has standing to seek legal rights over a child, Colorado courts are expanding the pool of individuals who can be ordered to pay child support.

Rationale for the Legal Recognition of Psychological Parents

Courts continue to recognize a natural or adoptive parent's fundamental due process rights.^[6] But being related to a child by blood does not determine whether a biological parent is the best caretaker.^[7] Children can form deep emotional bonds with caretakers even without a formal parental relationship.^[8] Children form inherent psychological bonds with adults from whom they regularly receive care and support.^[9]Breaking up or otherwise disrupting this relationship can be harmful to a child's emotional development and contrary to the child's best interest.^[10]

When a psychological parent is involved in a child's life, the risk of harming the child by destroying that relationship may outweigh the interest in protecting the parental rights of the child's natural parents.^[11] If the court believes that removing a psychological parent from a child's life is likely to cause the child adverse long-term emotional effects, then there is a compelling state interest in protecting that relationship.^[12] By giving non-parents standing to seek legal custody of a child under certain circumstances, the legislature acknowledges the importance that "psychological parenting" can have to children.^[13]

Standing to File for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

Before an individual can gain parental rights over a child as a psychological parent, they must first have standing to initiate an APR action. Traditionally, APR proceedings are filed by one or both parents seeking the court's assistance in determining a parenting time schedule. In limited circumstances, however, a non-parent may initiate an APR action. CRS § 14-10-123 lists the prerequisites for a non-parent to satisfy the standing requirement.

CRS § 14-10-123(1)(b) and (c) allow non-parents to file an action for parental rights without the consent of either of the child's natural parents.^[14] CRS § 14-10- 123(l)(b) allows a non-parent to file a petition seeking the allocation of parental responsibilities "in the county where the child is permanently resident or where the child is found, but only if die child is not in the physical care of one of die child's parents."^[15] CRS § 14-10-123(l)(c) gives a non-parent standing to initiate an APR proceeding if they had "die physical care of" die child for at least 182 days. However, if they are no longer caring for the child, the non-parent must commence the action within 182 days after the physical care ended.^[16] This time limitation exists because reintroducing a non-parent into die child's life after a six-month absence—during which the child has presumably adjusted to life without die non-parent—may be disruptive to a child." This is particularly true where the relationship between non-parent and child is weakened by time and distance apart.^[18] The six-month period of custody seeks to ensure that die non-parent filer has had a recent and significant role as a caregiver in the child's life.^[19] Courts do not wish to encourage neighbors, nannies, babysitters, au pairs, relatives, or family friends who have temporarily cared for a child to claim psychological parent status.^[20] However, a non-parent can satisfy the statute's six-months physical care requirement even if the child's natural parents did not actively relinquish custody to, or otherwise consent to, die non-parent's caring for the child at any point.^[21]

Defining the "physical care" requirement is essential when assessing whether a non-parent cared for a child for the required 182 days. This is a highly fact-dependent inquiry for the courts.^[22] The non-parent is not required to maintain exclusive custody of the child during the statutory six-month period in order to establish standing.^[23] Instead, the controlling question is whether the child has formed an important attachment with the non-parent by spending a significant period of time in the custody of the non-parent.^[24] If the legal parent(s) of the child also cared for the child during the six-month period of non-parent custody, the court should assess the nature, frequency, and duration of contacts the child had with their legal parent(s) to determine whether such contact deprives the litigant of standing.^[25]

Courts may determine that standing exists even when a legal parent occasionally resides with the non-parent litigant during the six-month custody period, or where the child periodically spends the night with a legal parent in a different location.^[26] Accordingly, CRS § 14-10-123(1) limits the class of non-parents who can petition for parental rights as "psychological parents" to those who have had a recent or ongoing role as a caretaker of the child.^[27] This limitation helps prevent undue interference in the relationship between natural/adoptive parents and their children.^[28]

Who Can Be Classified as a Psychological Parent?

While CRS § 14-10-123 may grant non-parents standing to petition for parental rights, initiating an APR proceeding is merely the first step in obtaining psychological parent status. Determining that an individual has standing...