Colorado

Family Law

Family Law

Section 14-13-209 – Information to be submitted to court

(1) Subject to a court order allowing a party to maintain the confidentiality of addresses and other identifying information and to subsection (5) of this section, in a child-custody proceeding, each party, in its first pleading or in an attached affidavit, shall give information, if reasonably ascertainable, under oath, as to the child’s present address or whereabouts, the places where the child has lived during the last five years, and the names and present addresses of the persons with whom the child has lived during that period. The pleading or affidavit must state whether the party:

(a) Has participated, as a party or witness or in any other capacity, in any other proceeding concerning the custody of or visitation or parenting time with the child and, if so, identify the court, the case number, and the date of the child-custody determination, if any;
(b) Knows of any proceeding that could affect the current proceeding, including proceedings for enforcement and proceedings relating to domestic violence or domestic abuse, protective orders or restraining orders, termination of parental rights, and adoptions and, if so, identify the court, the case number, and the nature of the proceeding; and
(c) Knows the names and addresses of any person not a party to the proceeding who has physical custody of the child or claims rights of parental responsibilities or legal custody or physical custody of, or visitation or parenting time with, the child and, if so, the names and addresses of those persons.
(2) If the information required by subsection (1) of this section is not furnished, the court, upon motion of a party or its own motion, may stay the proceeding until the information is furnished.
(3) If the declaration as to any of the items described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (1) of this section is in the affirmative, the declarant shall give additional information under oath as required by the court. The court may examine the parties under oath as to details of the information furnished and other matters pertinent to the court’s jurisdiction and the disposition of the case.
(4) Each party has a continuing duty to inform the court of any proceeding in this or any other state that could affect the current proceeding.
(5) If a party alleges in an affidavit or a pleading under oath that the health, safety, or liberty of a party or child would be jeopardized by disclosure of identifying information, the information must be sealed and may not be disclosed to the other party or the public unless the court orders the disclosure to be made after a hearing in which the court takes into consideration the health, safety, or liberty of the party or child and determines that the disclosure is in the interest of justice.

C.R.S. § 14-13-209

L. 2000: Entire article R&RE, p. 1529, § 1, effective July 1.

This section is similar to former § 14-13-110 as it existed prior to 2000.

OFFICIAL COMMENT

The pleading requirements from Section 9 of the UCCJA are generally carried over into this Act. However, the information is made subject to local law on the protection of names and other identifying information in certain cases. A number of States have enacted laws relating to the protection of victims in domestic violence and child abuse cases which provide for the confidentiality of victims names, addresses, and other information. These procedures must be followed if the child-custody proceeding of the State requires their applicability. See, e.g., California Family Law Code § 3409(a). If a State does not have local law that provides for protecting names and addresses, then subsection (5) or a similar provision should be adopted. Subsection (5) is based on the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judge’s, Model Code on Domestic and Family Violence § 304(c). There are other models to choose from, in particular UIFSA § 312.

In subsection (1)(b), the term “proceedings” should be read broadly to include more than custody proceedings. Thus, if one parent was being criminally prosecuted for child abuse or custodial interference, those proceedings should be disclosed. If the child is subject to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, facts relating to compliance with the Compact should be disclosed in the pleading or affidavit.

Subsection (1)(b) has been added. It authorizes the court to stay the proceeding until the information required in subsection (1)(a) has been disclosed, although failure to provide the information does not deprive the court of jurisdiction to hear the case. This follows the majority of jurisdictions which held that failure to comply with the pleading requirements of the UCCJA did not deprive the court of jurisdiction to make a custody determination.