Colorado § 11-50-115 - Use of custodial property.

§ 11-50-115. Use of custodial property.

(1) A custodian may deliver or pay to the minor or expend for the minor's benefit so much of the custodial property as the custodian considers advisable for the use and benefit of the minor, without court order and without regard to:

(a) The duty or ability of the custodian personally or of any other person to support the minor; or

(b) Any other income or property of the minor which may be applicable or available for that purpose.

(2) On petition of an interested person or the minor if the minor has attained the age of fourteen years, the court may order the custodian to deliver or pay to the minor or expend for the minor's benefit so much of the custodial property as the court considers advisable for the use and benefit of the minor.

(3) A delivery, payment, or expenditure under this section is in addition to, not in substitution for, and does not affect any obligation of a person to support the minor.

Source: L. 84: Entire article R&RE, p. 389, § 1, effective July 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 11-50-105 as it existed prior to 1984.

ANNOTATION

Gifts not to reduce parent's legal obligation of support. Where a parent or parents voluntarily make gifts to children during the parents' marriage and the gifts are not in fulfillment of a court order to pay support, and where the parents are, at the time of dissolution of the marriage, able to meet their support obligations, the court may order that such gifts not be used to reduce the legal obligation of support. This rule assumed that the court had properly considered the financial resources of the children, as required by § 14-10-115 (1), before ordering the amount of support to be paid by the parents. In re Wolfert, 42 Colo. App. 433, 598 P.2d 524 (1979) (decided under former § 11-50-105 of the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act).

Trial court did not abuse discretion in determining parties' ability to meet obligation for child support and postsecondary education independently of Uniform Gifts to Minors Act account funds where parties combined gross income exceeded upper limits of child support guidelines. In re Ludwig, 122 P.3d 1056 (Colo. App. 2005).