Colorado § 19-4-102.5 - Terms defined.

§ 19-4-102.5. Terms defined.

(1) Any reference in the statutes, administrative rules, court rules, government policies, common law, and any other provision or source of law in this state to an "acknowledgment of paternity" means an "acknowledgment of parentage", as described in this section.

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in this title 19 to "father" includes a parent of any gender, any reference to "mother" includes a parent of any gender, and any reference to "paternity" is equally applicable to "parentage".

(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, as used in this title 19, "natural parent" means a nonadoptive parent established pursuant to this article 4, whether or not biologically related to the child.

(4) Any reference in the statutes, administrative rules, court rules, government policies, common law, and any other provision or source of law in this state to "spouse", "husband", or "wife", or to the plurals of such terms, are equally applicable to a civil union partner. Any reference to "marriage", "marital union", "marital status", "married", "unmarried", "wedlock", or any similar term is equally applicable to the status of being in a civil union or not in a civil union.

Source: L. 2022: Entire section added, (HB 22-1153), ch. 210, p. 1389, § 3, effective August 10.

ANNOTATION

Psychological mother's actions were not sufficient to put the juvenile court on notice that she sought to be recognized as the child's "natural parent" because the psychological mother did not object to statements made in the juvenile court proceedings that alluded to the biological mother as being the child's natural mother; did not object to the department's amended petition, which recognized the biological mother as the child's parent and the psychological mother as the child's custodian; and did not raise a question of maternity until her motion to reconsider the juvenile court's dismissal order. People in Interest of C.D.P., 2023 COA 90, 541 P.3d 43.