Written for men

Fathers, parenting time and the house

Colorado does not favor mothers. It favors the children’s best interests, and a father who shows up, lives close and has a bedroom ready is most of what that means in practice. Here is how parenting time is decided, how the 2026 support formula counts overnights, and how the house fits.

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The standard

Best interests, no gender

C.R.S. 14-10-124 lists the factors. Neither parent has a presumption. Judges want two involved parents when both are safe and able.

The formula

Every overnight counts (2026)

HB25-1159 removed the 93-overnight cliff. Support adjusts for each overnight, so 50/50 with unequal incomes still means a transfer, just a smaller one.

The house

Close, with a room

A home inside the school area with a bedroom for each child is the single most practical thing a father can do for his parenting case.

The plan

Write it down

Exchanges, holidays, decision-making, communication rules. A specific plan gets adopted; a vague one gets litigated.

The short answer

Ask for the schedule you can actually keep, prove you can keep it, and live where it works. Colorado judges adopt detailed, workable plans from parents who cooperate; they do not hand out 50/50 as a prize or withhold it as a punishment. Under the 2026 child support formula every overnight you have reduces what you pay, so the parenting plan and the money are the same conversation.

How parenting time is decided

The court allocates parental responsibilities, parenting time and decision-making, under the best-interests factors in C.R.S. 14-10-124: the children’s relationship with each parent, each parent’s past involvement, ability to put the children first, the distance between homes, the children’s adjustment to home and school, and any abuse or neglect. Most cases settle on a plan in mediation. Contested cases can involve a Child and Family Investigator (fees capped by rule) or a Parental Responsibilities Evaluator (a mental-health professional, hourly).

The 2026 child support formula, in one paragraph

House Bill 25-1159 took effect March 1, 2026. Both parents’ adjusted gross incomes are combined, the basic obligation is read from the statutory schedule, split in proportion to income, and then adjusted for each parent’s overnights on a continuous scale (the old 93-overnight cliff and the 1.5 multiplier are gone), plus childcare, health insurance and extraordinary expenses. Equal time with equal incomes nets near zero; equal time with a higher earner still means the higher earner pays something. The state calculator is free on the Colorado Judicial Branch site.

Where you live is part of the case

Inside the school areaKeeps the children’s routine; makes midweek overnights realistic; reads as commitment.

A bedroom per child, or closeCourts and evaluators ask. A one-bedroom apartment with the kids on the couch undercuts a 50/50 request.

Stable, not temporaryA lease you can keep beats a friend’s basement. If you will buy, buy after the decree with the support terms known. Buying after divorce.

The marital homeKeeping it for the kids is one option, and often the most expensive. A smaller home in the same attendance area keeps what they care about. Staying in the house with the kids.

Questions fathers ask

Do fathers get 50/50 in Colorado?

Often, when both parents can provide it and the logistics work. There is no presumption either way; the schedule that gets ordered is the one that fits the children’s lives and that both parents can keep.

Do I still pay child support with 50/50?

If incomes differ, usually yes, but less than before 2026 because every overnight is credited. With similar incomes the transfer can be near zero.

Can she move the kids out of state?

Not during the case without your consent or an order (the injunction), and after the decree only through a relocation process the court decides.

What if she will not let me see them?

Document every missed exchange, ask the court to enforce the order, and keep showing up. Do not withhold support in response; the two are separate obligations.

Should I keep the house for the kids?

Only if one income carries it. Ask a lender before the decree. If not, a home in the same school area is the answer that keeps their friends, school and routine. What a lender counts.

Straight answers, no lecture

Most men who call us want two things: the number, and a plan.

We are a real estate team, not your attorney and not your ex’s. On the house we give both spouses the same written number at the same time, tell you whether you can carry it alone, and run the sale or the buyout without drama. The rest of the questions on these pages are answered plainly and pointed to the right professional.

Nothing here is logged to an account. If you send a form, we text once to set up a time, and we never contact you without permission.

A written valuation to both spouses, free

The one-income number a lender will actually approve

Court-ready listing terms if it has to sell

A discovery call with no pitch

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Where to go next

Plain-language education, not advice. Divorce Decisions is published by The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC, a real estate team. Nothing here is legal, tax, lending or financial advice, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. Colorado law and lender rules change; confirm anything that matters to your case with a licensed Colorado attorney, a tax professional, and your lender. See our full disclaimer.

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Tell us the school area and what you can carry. We will send the all-in number for the marital home and for a smaller one nearby, free. Nobody is contacted without permission.

Call or text 303-955-4220

A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Prefer email? homes@kennarealestate.com