Legal Question in Family Law in Colorado

Change of Jurisdiction

Divorce decree issued in Colorado. Custody to mother. Father moved to Indiana. Mother has since moved to Kansas.Kansas emancipation age is 18, Colorado is 19, Indiana is 18.Want to modify a support order due to this. Want to change jurisdiction and believe that it would probably be Kansas rather than Indiana since children live there. Must I first petition the state of Colorado to modify jurisdiction or send the request to modify jurisdiction to Kansas?


Asked on 2/05/04, 10:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mary Ann Wunder Wunder & Wunder

Re: Change of Jurisdiction

In order to emancipate a child you need to petition the Court which originally issued the decree. If the decree has been registered in another state and jurisdiction transferred there, then the petition should be to the court where it was registered. Moving the decree between jurisdictions does not change which law applies to such basic questions as to when support stops - Colorado law is always going to apply on that issue. As an aside, Indiana law specifies that child support continues to age 21 unless a child is emancipated under one of the rules set out in the statute. There is nothing about automatic emancipation at age 18.

Read more
Answered on 2/06/04, 9:05 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in Colorado