Parenting Plan Clauses Colorado: What to Include Beyond the Basics

Colorado's JDF 1113 parenting plan form covers the mandatory sections — decision-making allocation, the residential schedule, and holiday rotations. But the form's structured fields do not address every situation that causes conflict between co-parents. The Additional Provisions section of JDF 1113 is where you build the clauses that prevent future disputes before they start.

Here are the provisions that experienced family law practitioners routinely include and that courts expect to see in well-drafted plans.

First Right of Refusal

A first right of refusal clause gives the other parent the opportunity to care for the child before a third-party babysitter is used. When one parent cannot be with the child during their scheduled parenting time — because of work, travel, a social commitment — they must first offer that time to the other parent.

How to draft it effectively:

Set a minimum threshold. A clause triggered by every 30-minute absence is impractical. Most workable provisions kick in when the parent will be away for four or more consecutive hours, though some plans use six or eight hours.

Specify the notification method and response window. For example: "The exercising parent must send a text message to the other parent at least 24 hours in advance, or as soon as practicable for unplanned absences. The other parent has two hours to accept or decline. No response within two hours is treated as a decline."

Clarify that overnights away always trigger the right. If a parent will be away overnight during their scheduled time, the other parent gets the opportunity before a grandparent, partner, or babysitter does.

Communication Protocols

JDF 1113 asks about communication between the child and the non-residential parent. But it does not provide detailed guidance on parent-to-parent communication, which is where most conflict lives.

Between parents: Specify the primary communication channel — email, a co-parenting app like OurFamilyWizard or TalkingParents, or text. Many plans restrict communication to written channels only (no phone calls) so that records exist. In high-conflict cases, requiring all communication through a monitored app creates an unalterable record the court can review.

Response time expectations: "Each parent will respond to non-emergency communications within 24 hours. Emergency communications (medical, safety) will be responded to within one hour."

Between the child and the non-residential parent: Specify days and times for phone or video calls. "The child may speak with the non-residential parent by video call on Tuesday and Thursday evenings between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM" is enforceable. "Reasonable phone contact" is not.

Social media and photographs: Consider whether you need a clause about posting photographs of the child on social media, sharing the child's location publicly, or allowing the child to have social media accounts.

Travel and Passport Provisions

Colorado does not require a specific travel clause, but omitting one creates problems when either parent wants to travel with the child.

In-state and domestic travel: Most plans require written notice to the other parent a set number of days in advance (14 to 30 days is common) with the destination, dates, and contact information where the child can be reached.

International travel: This is more complex. Consider including:

• A requirement for both parents' written consent before obtaining or renewing a child's passport
• A provision that the traveling parent provide an itinerary, flight numbers, hotel addresses, and emergency contacts at least 30 days before departure
• A restriction on travel to countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction
• A requirement that the traveling parent leave a notarized travel consent letter with the other parent

Passport control: If international abduction is a concern, the plan can specify that the child's passport be held by a neutral third party or the court and released only with both parents' written consent.

Decision-Making Tiebreakers

Colorado allows joint decision-making in education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. But "joint" does not mean "unanimous" — and JDF 1113 does not specify what happens when joint decision-makers disagree.

Tiebreaker clauses: Some plans designate one parent as the final decision-maker in a specific domain (for example, Parent A makes final healthcare decisions; Parent B makes final education decisions). This preserves joint input while preventing deadlock.

Mediation before court: An alternative is requiring the parents to attend mediation on the specific dispute before either can file a motion with the court. This adds a step but keeps decision-making out of the courtroom for most disagreements.

Emergency medical exception: Regardless of how decision-making is allocated, include a clause authorizing either parent to consent to emergency medical treatment without the other parent's prior approval.

Relocation Notice

Under C.R.S. § 14-10-129, a parent must provide written notice before relocating with the child. Your plan should reference this statute and specify what happens beyond the statutory minimum — for example, requiring 60 days' notice rather than the statutory "as soon as practicable," or requiring the notice to include three proposed revised schedules for the non-relocating parent to evaluate.

Introducing New Partners

One of the most emotionally charged issues. While courts cannot control whom a parent dates, a parenting plan can include practical boundaries:

• "Neither parent will introduce a new romantic partner to the child until the relationship has been ongoing for six months."
• "Overnight visits with a new partner will not occur during the parent's parenting time until the partner has met the child on at least three occasions."

These clauses are not always enforceable as written, but they signal expectations and give the court a reference point if conflict arises.

Putting It Together

The difference between a parenting plan that works and one that generates motion after motion is specificity. Every clause should answer three questions: What exactly happens? When does it happen? What is the consequence if it does not happen?

The Colorado Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes clause-by-clause worksheets that map to JDF 1113's Additional Provisions section. Working through these provisions before your mediation session or court date gives you a structured draft rather than a blank field and a set of arguments waiting to happen.

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