Jurisdiction

Colorado has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), codified at C.R.S. 14-13-101, et seq. The statute provides that Colorado has jurisdiction to enter or modify parenting orders if one of the following conditions is met:

1. Colorado is the child's home state, which means the child has lived here with a parent or acting parent for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of a Colorado child custody action (or for the child's life, if the child is less than six months old),

2. Colorado was the child's home state within six months prior to the filing of a custody action, and a parent/acting parent still lives in Colorado,

3. No other state has jurisdiction, or the child's home state has declined to exercise jurisdiction on the grounds that Colorado is a more convenient forum, and the child has a significant connection to Colorado,

4. Colorado initially entered parenting orders (e.g. a Colorado divorce or paternity action), and either the child or one of the parents has lived in Colorado continuously since then, or

5. Temporary emergency jurisdiction exists because the child is physically present in Colorado and has been abandoned or some other emergency, such as abuse, threatens the child.

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