Woodland Park, CO Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

You can and should file for divorce. Yes, you should consult legal counsel to discuss your options and reasonable expectations. That consultation can help you decide if you need to retain an attorney to handle the entire process of divorce for you.

Until there is a court order about parenting time, each parent has an equal right to parenting time and there is nothing to stop you from moving across the state. Venue (where you file) is proper where he resides or in whatever county he is served in. You can, however, file in any county and it would be up to him to object to that venue and try to have it moved. You probably are better off moving before filing, but I would need to know more about the facts of your case to give you a more definitive response as to whether that would benefit you legally and you also should consider the human factors and how it will affect your case and your relationship with him going forward as co-parents if you move the kids prior to filing for divorce and getting a court order regarding parenting time (given the age of the children, the facts you state and his involvement with the kids, it sounds like you have a pretty good case to be allowed to move across the state in any case). I offer a free 15 minute initial consultation if you have further questions. I hope this helps. 

She can't dictate that unless she gets a court order. If you don't have a court order on visitation, file a paternity action and file for a hearing on child custody and visitation.