Chapter 34 - § 34.2 • ALLOCATION OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES: GRANDPARENTS, KIN, AND "PSYCHOLOGICAL PARENTS"

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 34.2 • ALLOCATION OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES: GRANDPARENTS, KIN, AND "PSYCHOLOGICAL PARENTS"

§ 34.2.1—Standing to Obtain the Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

A grandparent or other adult acting as a parent, sometimes called a "psychological parent," has standing to pursue the allocation of parental responsibilities under two circumstances: (1) if he or she has had physical care of the child for more than six months and has initiated an APR action within six months of losing physical care of the child; or (2) the child is not in the physical care of either of his or her parents. C.R.S. §§ 14-10-123(1)(b) and (c). These two conditions for standing are separate, and each provides an independent basis for standing. In re K.M.B., 80 P.3d 914 (Colo. App. 2003).

Whether a non-parent has had a child in his or her "physical care" is explored in a series of cases that examine the nature, duration, and frequency of the contact between the non-parent and the child and the parent(s) and child. The essential issue for standing is physical care, not whether the child formed a bond with the caregiver. In re L.F., 121 P.3d 267 (Colo. App. 2005) (citing In re V.R.P.F., 939 P.2d 512 (Colo. App. 1997)). The non-parent's physical care need not be uninterrupted or exclusive of the parent's care. In the Interest of E.L.M.C., 100 P.3d 546 (Colo. App. 2004). The court should consider "the amount of time a child has spent in the actual, physical possession of a non-parent and the psychological bonds non-parents develop with children who have been in their physical possession and control for a significant period oftime." In re Custody of C.C.R.S., 892 P.2d 246, 253 (Colo. 1995). The actual contact need not be exclusive or continuous. E.L.M.C., 100 P.3d 546. The non-parent need not show that the parents voluntarily relinquished the care of the child or consented to the circumstances under which the non-parent had care and control of the child. In the Interest of B.B.O., 277 P.3d 818 (Colo. 2012).

§ 34.2.2—Best Interests Standard Applies

Once standing has been established, the "best interests of the child" standard of C.R.S. § 14-10-124(1.5) controls how much time or decision-making authority can be allocated to the grandparent or other non-parent in an APR action. The Colorado Supreme Court in C.C.R.S., 892 P.2d 246, examined whether the application of the best interests of the child standard, without a showing of parental unfitness, is the appropriate test for resolving a custodial dispute between a natural parent and psychological parents under C.R.S. § 14-10-123. C.C.R.S. was an adoption case where the...