Q: can the child support change in Colorado be retroactive to the emancipation at age 19 rather than when the motion filed?

A: I am not sure what you read.

For Colorado to have jurisdiction (power) over a minor, the child must at least reside in Colorado for 6 months plus 1 day. Retroactive support does not usually have this requirement provided that Colorado had jurisdiction over the child in one of two situations: (1) Colorado currently has jurisdiction over the child (via the 6 mo. rule) or (2) Colorado had jurisdiction over the child for the period of the deficient support payments. There are some limitations, but generally speaking retroactive support obligations have no statute of limitations.

What you may have read is that the mandatory termination of support is required to be filed when a minor reaches majority (and support obligations end). While technically required, many parents do not file the termination of support motion. This is not usually an issue if payment occurred out-of-court (i.e. checks were mailed directly to the former spouse or a joint account was shared). It only becomes an issue when the court is currently enforcing payment via automatic deduction from a parent's paycheck, because without the motion the court will continue to withhold support payment regardless of the child becoming an adult (and support obligations ending per the custody agreement).

A: Final note, if the parent obligated to pay (payor) has moved jurisdictions. The motion for retroactive support must be filed in the state of the payer's current residence.