Violating a custody order in Colorado means failing to comply with a court’s parenting time, decision-making, support, or property orders. When that happens, Colorado gives the other party formal tools to enforce those orders — including a motion to enforce parenting time under C.R.S. 14-10-129.5 and a contempt proceeding under the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure.

What Colorado does not give you is permission to fix it yourself. And self-help is where most parents in this situation do real damage to their own case.

TL;DR

• Retaliating against a violation — withholding a child, stopping support — typically turns you into a violator too.
• A motion to enforce parenting time under C.R.S. 14-10-129.5 is usually the fastest tool. The court must act within 35 days, and these motions get docket priority.
• If the court finds a parenting time violation, it shall award attorney fees and costs to the parent who brought the motion. That language is mandatory.
• Contempt is the broader tool. It reaches any willful violation and carries heavier consequences, but it is harder to prove.
• Courts look for substantial or continuing noncompliance — a documented pattern, not a single bad weekend.
• Enforcement and modification are different questions with different answers.

One Bad Weekend or a Real Pattern?

Not every missed exchange is a court matter. Colorado’s enforcement statute is aimed at substantial or continuing noncompliance — not at an isolated misunderstanding, a sick child, or a flight delay.

Naming the problem accurately matters, because the remedy depends on it:

• Isolated incidents. A late pickup, a one-time schedule conflict. Usually best handled directly.
• A developing pattern. Repeated late returns, chronic communication failures, a schedule steadily eroding. This is where documentation becomes essential.
• Substantial or continuing noncompliance. Parenting time regularly denied, support not paid, property not transferred, documents not signed. This is what the enforcement tools are built for.

 

Why Retaliating Is the Costliest Move You Can Make

This is the most important section in this article, so we will be blunt.

If the other parent is withholding your child, do not stop paying support. If the other parent is not paying support, do not withhold your child. In Colorado, parenting time and child support are separate obligations. Courts have long treated them that way, and the enforcement statute itself directs courts to keep the issues separate.

The parent who retaliates arrives in court having handed the other side a defense. Instead of one violation to address, the court now has two parties to evaluate — and the parent who was originally wronged is explaining their own conduct.

If your orders are being ignored, please do not take matters into your own hands. Talk with our team about your enforcement options.

Motion to Enforce Parenting Time Under C.R.S. 14-10-129.5

A motion to enforce parenting time is usually the first and most effective tool when a Colorado parenting order is being violated. Three features make it powerful.

Speed. The court must act within 35 days of a verified motion — denying it if the allegations are inadequate, setting a hearing as expeditiously as possible, or ordering mediation. These motions receive priority on the docket.

Mandatory fees. If the court finds the other parent failed to provide court-ordered parenting time, the statute provides that the court shall award attorney fees, court costs, and expenses to the parent who brought the motion. “Shall” is mandatory, not discretionary. Note the flip side: if the court finds no violation, it may order the filing parent to pay the other side’s fees and costs.

Tailored remedies. The statute gives courts a menu of options, including:

• Additional terms and conditions on parenting time
• Modification of the existing order to serve the child’s best interests
• A parental education program at the noncomplying parent’s expense
• Family counseling at the noncomplying parent’s expense
• A bond or security to ensure future compliance
• Make-up parenting time of the same type and duration
• A finding of contempt, with a fine or jail sentence
• A civil fine not to exceed $100 per incident of denied parenting time
• Any other order promoting the child’s best interests

 

Contempt: The Broader and Heavier Tool

Contempt reaches any willful violation of a court order, not only parenting time. It is the tool for unpaid support, refusal to transfer property, or refusal to sign required documents.

Contempt carries heavier consequences — fines and, in serious cases, jail. It is also harder to prove and generally slower. Courts typically look for a valid order, knowledge of it, the ability to comply, and a willful failure to do so. That “ability to comply” element matters: a parent who genuinely cannot pay is in a different position from one who simply will not.

Attorney fees in contempt are discretionary, not mandatory — a meaningful difference from the enforcement statute.

 

What Courts Look For: Documentation and Good Faith

Enforcement cases are won on the record, and the record is built long before anything is filed.

Habits that hold up in court:

• A contemporaneous log. Dates, times, what was supposed to happen, what actually happened. Written as it occurs, not reconstructed later.
• Written communication. Keep exchanges in text or email or a co-parenting app. Verbal agreements evaporate.
• Your own compliance, documented. Show up for exchanges even when you expect the child will not be there. Keep paying support. Your compliance is evidence.
• A child-focused tone. Hostile messages sent in a difficult moment tend to reappear as exhibits.
• Patterns, not anecdotes. Six documented denials over four months is a case. One frustrating weekend is not.

 

Enforcement or Modification? Two Different Questions

These get conflated constantly, and they are not the same.

Enforcement asks the court to make someone follow the order that exists. The order is fine. The compliance is not.

Modification asks the court to change the order. Here, the order itself no longer fits — circumstances changed, the schedule stopped working, the arrangement is not serving the child.

Sometimes the honest answer is modification. A parenting plan that generates constant violations may be a plan that no longer fits the family. Filing an enforcement motion against an unworkable order can win the battle and leave you exactly where you started.

You Followed the Order. You Should Not Have to Abandon It to Get It Enforced.

There is a specific kind of exhaustion that comes from being the parent who complies. You show up. You pay. You keep your side of an agreement the other person treats as optional. And every option that occurs to you at 8pm on a missed exchange is one that could hurt you later.

We handle enforcement and contempt matters for parents throughout Fort Collins, Larimer County, and Weld County. We will help you determine whether you are looking at an enforcement problem or a modification problem, what documentation you need, and which tool actually fits your situation.

If your orders are being ignored, the right next move is a phone call — not a decision made in a parking lot.

Contact Alexander & Associates about enforcing your orders.

Protect Your Orders Without Undermining Your Case

When someone is violating a custody order in Colorado, the law provides real tools — a fast enforcement motion with mandatory fee-shifting, and a contempt remedy with genuine consequences. Those tools work best for the parent who kept their own record clean, documented the pattern, and did not retaliate.

The instinct to even the score is understandable. It is also the single most reliable way to turn a case you would have won into a case where both parents are explaining themselves.

Schedule a consultation with our Fort Collins team.

People Also Ask

What can I do if my ex will not follow the parenting plan in Colorado?

You may file a verified motion to enforce parenting time under C.R.S. 14-10-129.5. The court must act within 35 days, and if it finds a violation, it shall award you attorney fees and costs. Contempt is also available for willful violations of any court order.

Can I stop paying child support if my ex is withholding my parenting time?

No. Child support and parenting time are separate obligations in Colorado, and courts are directed to keep the issues separate. Stopping support in response to denied parenting time typically makes you a violator as well and can seriously damage your position.

How long does a motion to enforce parenting time take in Colorado?

C.R.S. 14-10-129.5 requires the court to act within 35 days of a verified motion — by denying it, setting a hearing as expeditiously as possible, or ordering mediation. These motions receive priority on the docket.

What is the difference between a motion to enforce and a motion for contempt?

A motion to enforce under 14-10-129.5 is specific to parenting time violations, moves faster, and carries mandatory attorney fees if a violation is found. Contempt is broader, reaching any willful violation of a court order, and carries heavier potential consequences — but it is harder to prove and fees are discretionary.