In re the Marriage of Thorburn

Are you involved in a divorce or child custody case involving an emergency restriction of parenting time? An experienced divorce and child custody lawyer and team can guide you through the legal process to assist in exploring your options. You have one bite at the apple in the court system so make it count.

Caselaw - Important case on emergency motions to restrict parenting time:

In re the Marriage of Thorburn, 519 P.3d 736 (Colo. App. 2022)

This case involves both C.R.S. § 14-10-129(1)(B)(I), which sets forth the “endangerment” standard necessary to impose or continue a parenting time restriction, and C.R.S. § 14-10-129(4), which sets forth the legal standard necessary to obtain an emergency hearing a nd temporary parenting time restriction. The primary question at issue in this case was whether at an emergency restriction hearing, a party must prove that the children are in “imminent” danger in order for the court to impose parenting time restrictions.

Mother filed an emergency motion to restrict parenting time alleging that Child suffered multiple injuries during Father’s parenting time. Father said that the injuries were accidental. There was a hearing and the Magistrate determined that Mother proved that the child was in “imminent” danger ordering supervised parenting time and imposing conditions on Father in order to obtain unsupervised parenting time. Father alleged that the Court improperly imposed the restriction.

Father appealed. Mother argued that the imminency standard only applied to the allegations necessary to obtain a temporary restriction and an emergency hearing, but that imminency was not required to be established at the hearing itself. The Court of Appeals agreed with Mother and concluded that C.R.S.§ 14-10-129(4) does not require the moving party to prove imminency at the emergency hearing itself. However, imminency is required to sufficiently alleged to trigger the 14-day hearing timeline and an immediate restriction of parenting time pending hearing. At the emergency hearing itself, the legal standard is that of endangerment in C.R.S. § 14-10-129(1)(B)(I)’s.

A knowledgeable and experienced divorce and family lawyer and legal team can guide you through Colorado Springs divorce and family law matters by negotiating, mediating and litigating on your behalf. You can focus on moving on to a better future instead of spending your time attempting to navigate complex legal rules and procedures.

Sabra Janko from Janko Family Law has more than 20 years of legal experience and has written “the book” on Colorado divorce and family law – “Colorado Family Law With Forms”, published by LexisNexis, which you can find at https://store.lexisnexis.com/products/colorado-family-law-with-forms-skuSKU02903. Contact us at 719-344-5523 or complete our online scheduling request for a free 30-minute informational consultation.