Jessica K. Peck, Attorney at Law, LLC

04/27/2026

In the end, your children are the judge and jury that matter. During intervening years of high conflict legal conflict, your response to endless litigation—especially litigation you never asked for (and/or in many cases, even initiated)—will make all the difference.

This is why we provide specific guidance to clients on how to raise brave, empowered kids spared from the conflict to every degree possible, consistently armed with the skills necessary to find their own voices.

04/23/2026

More and more couples are choosing to merge lives without becoming legally married. Unfortunately, without a legal marriage, breaking up can be incredibly messy. Planning ahead on real estate, investments, and shared accounts can help minimize the pain.

Reach out to us with questions on how to protect yourself. Also, check out this piece from the WSJ on the challenges of a breaking up with a non-spouse.

Whether the fight is over the house or the dog, u***d former couples are often beholden to a patchwork of legal interpretation. ‘It’s the Wild West.’

04/03/2026

Great advice from a high-conflict parenting coach.

03/01/2026

Court-mandated phone calls between a child and a non-custodial parent are designed to maintain connection, especially for younger children. But what happens when a kid refuses to talk? The custodial parent’s treatment of a child’s refusal is critically important.

Yes, something as simple as missed FaceTime calls can be exploited in litigation.

Additionally, if you are the parent being refused calls, your treatment of the situation warrants care and consideration, too.

Here’s more on the topi below. Also, please feel free to reach out to us to discuss further. Whatever you do: don’t view social media posts on tough family law topicw as black-and-white legal advice. They’re not. They’re guideposts and suggestions for you as you navigate the brutal waters of family law litigation.

You're not alienating your child by refusing to force a phone call.

You're teaching them autonomy.

There's a difference between encouraging contact and coercing a conversation.

Family court expects you to make calls available, not to physically force a child to perform for the other parent.

If your ex is threatening contempt because your 8-year-old didn't want to FaceTime for 20 minutes on a Tuesday night, that's about control. Not connection.

Here's what compliance actually looks like:
👉 The call was offered
👉 The child had access
👉 You didn't interfere

That's it.

The length of the call? Irrelevant.
Whether they said goodnight twice? Irrelevant.
Your ex's disappointment? Not your responsibility.

Courts track patterns, not feelings.

If you're being accused of withholding calls, document this:
• Date and time of the call
• Was access provided? Yes or no.
• Did the child disengage naturally?

No emotional commentary. No motives. Just behavior.

And if your child is whispering "I can't really talk right now" when they're at the other parent's house, respect that. You're not going to win by forcing connection. You're going to win by staying regulated, child-focused, and documented.

Watch now the full episode! https://youtu.be/BlPUNPTwClk

What does "encouraging contact" look like in your situation? Drop it below.

02/26/2026

If states gained nicknames based on their greatest loves, Colorado would certainly be renamed “Dogorado”. Here’s an article on a legislative effort to recognize pets as very important family members at the time of divorce. Until changes come, pets are considered personal property subject to division, but only if parties are married. Otherwise, with rare exceptions (such as with proection orders) pet ownership needs to be litigated in a civil case. Perhaps this new bill, if passed, could simplify things for pets and their humans. Time will tell.

State lawmakers advanced a bill to establish legal standards for pet custody rulings, directing courts to consider the animals' best interests.

02/23/2026

Coercive Control is a term making its way into the state laws across the country. It’s an expansive definition of child abuse and domestic violence, recognizing that financial abuse, pet abuse, and other non-physical forms of abuse can be just as damaging—or even worse worse—for victims.

In Colorado, judges are taking very diverse approaches to the diagnosis, standards of proof, and legal treatments associated with allegations of coercive control in family court cases. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have questions on this growing area of legal interest.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1B8LMEHgqR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Coercive control is abuse even when there are no bruises.

Because this form of abuse often doesn’t always come with violence, it is routinely minimized. Labeled as high-conflict. Misunderstood as alienation. Or dismissed as a communication problem. Meanwhile, children are adapting to conditions that quietly fracture their sense of self.

When a child learns that love is earned through compliance, that their feelings are dangerous, or that staying quiet keeps them safer, that is not a parenting difference.

That is harm.

In my latest blog, I explain why coercive control must be named clearly as child abuse, how it operates in plain sight, and why mislabeling it causes lasting damage especially when systems meant to protect children fail to see it.

If this feels familiar, you’re not imagining it. And what your child is experiencing matters.

Read the full post here: https://www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com/what-is-coercive-control-and-why-it-is-child-abuse/ or at the link in my bio. Click on the NEW ON THE BLOG tab.

12/12/2025

We’re looking for part-time and full-time administrative and paralegal support. These flexible positions are hybrid (in-person/remote), also including the opportunity to start part-time and grow into a full-time capacity. Candidates will have experience and knowldge working with CCEF and administrative software, such as Clio. We are a Denver-based boutique firm with a focus on guiding our clients through contentious litigation and collaborative case resolution. Any paralegal candidates should have at least three years experience drafting pleadings, assisting in trial preparation, and overseeing the logistics of hearing-day management. We are open to LLPs, too. Send us your resume, with at least two references, to [email protected]. We’re looking to hire candidates ASAP.

12/10/2025

Some amazing co-parenting advice!

10/23/2025

Family planning in this era of embryos continues to be a source of tremendous interest by Colorado’s courts. Here’s the latest from the Colorado Court of Appelas this month:

https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/system/files/opinions-2025-10/24CA0590-PD.pdf

If you have questions about your rights, as a parent or potential parent, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

08/23/2025

At present, our firm awaits the upcoming criminal trial of a Denver child protection caseworker facing 18 charges for falsification of abuse reports (and attempted bribery) targeting one of the families we represent.

Here, our clients courageously fought back and the family now has the luxury of beginning the healing process.

But how many families aren’t lucky enough to escape abuses of our family and juvenile court systems?

Recent staturory changes mean that Colorado judges and court-appointed experts are compelled to take an intensive course on family violence. It’s a great start, we’re starting to see some incremental changes, but it’s still not enough.

Our courts are woefully understaffed, with many judges now dealing with caseloads exceeding 300.

The consequence: too many victims are ignored, too many abusers go free, and too many parents are falsely implicated in abuse findings. Children suffer irreparable harm under each of these scenarios.

We must do better and there are ways to make this happen. Advocacy must be targeted and sophisticated, especially in an era when the well-intentioned online warriors unintentionally hand out bad advice.

Please reach out to us if you’ve been a victim of our family court systems. We may be able ro connect you with resources critical to keeping you and your family safe from domestic abuse and litigation abuse.

In the meantime, please check out the account below. There remains so much work to be done.