About Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation

A maternal or paternal grandparent of a child may seek a court order granting grandparent reasonable visitation rights when there is or has been judicial intervention into the marriage of the child’s parents, a judicial placement of the child(ren) outside their family, or the death of the grandparent’s child.

Use the process outlined on this page to request grandparent or great-grandparent visitation rights, as per C.R.S. §19-1-117 (Colorado Revised Statutes).

To ask for decision-making authority or to be a part of the parenting time schedule, visit Get Custody and/or Child Support without a Marriage or Civil Union to see if you qualify, then use JDF 1703 Petition for Custody (Grandparents).

Criteria for Visitation for Grandparents or Great-Grandparents

Any grandparent or great-grandparent may ask the court for visitation if the grandchild or great-grandchild is a part of one of the following cases:

1. Divorce of the child's parents or dissolution of a parent's civil union.
2. Legal separation of the child's parents.
3. Annulment of a parent's marriage or civil union
4. Child custody
5. Paternity
6. A probate case where a child's parent has died or someone is acting as a guardian or managing the finances of the child.

A grandparent or great-grandparent cannot ask the court for visitation if:

1. The parental rights of the child's parents have been terminated.
2. The child has been placed for adoption, or the adoption has been legally finalized.

Note: No grandparent or great-grandparent may seek an order granting visitation more than once every two years unless approved by the court.

How to Start a Case

You must file your paperwork in the county where the original case is located. Use the courts locator to find the correct court location.

Forms and Paperwork Required

Download and fill out the Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation forms using the forms link above. For additional details on completing these forms, consult JDF 1700 Instructions to File for Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation.

Paperwork Tips

• Use the case number from the existing case that the child is part of.
• You will be known as the Intervenor when you complete your forms. This means that you are not part of the existing case, but you are asking the court to be part of the case.
• The parents of the child will be identified as the Petitioner and Co-Petitioner or Respondent. Identify the parents in the top part of your forms in the same way that they are identified in the existing case involving the child.
• In the top part of your forms where it says "Parental Responsibilities Concerning ______", you will enter the child's name.
• Fill out only the top ("caption") part of JDF 1702 Order for Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation and JDF 1705 Order to Intervene. The court will fill out the rest.
• You must sign JDF 1701 Verified Pleading Affidavit for Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation in front of a notary public or court clerk at the courthouse where you will file your case. You can find a local notary public by looking in the Yellow Pages, on the Internet, or by going to your local bank.
• After you complete your forms, you will need to mail or hand-deliver a copy of JDF 1701 Verified Pleading Affidavit for Grandparent or Great-Grandparent Visitation and JDF 1704 Motion to Intervene to the child's parents and any other people named in the paperwork who are part of the case before you give your paperwork to the court.

How to Submit Paperwork to the Court

1. Take your completed forms to the clerk at the courthouse.
2. Pay the filing fee. If you do not think you can afford the filing fee, fill out form JDF 205 Motion to File Without Payment and Supporting Financial Affidavit and JDF 206 Finding and Order Concerning Payment of Fees to request a waiver of the filing fee, or visit our File Without Payment section for complete information.