LAS VEGAS -- Colleen and Stan Rimer will have to live without their children for the time being.

The Rimers were back in court on Friday.

The district attorney's office had filed a formal petition against them.

The Rimers had hoped they could bring their four remaining children home Friday. Instead, they learned that they will have to return to court on Aug. 18.

A formal abuse and neglect petition has been filed against Colleen and Stan Rimer, the parents of Jason Rimer, a 4-year-old who died after he was left in the family's SUV for 17 hours.

The lawyer representing Stan Rimer said their denial is the equivalent of a not guilty plea.

“The state has filed a petition. They now have the burden of proof of their allegations. Our choice is to either admit that the allegations are true or say we're not going to contest them or say they're not true, you can't prove them, so the state has a trial,” said attorney Lew Wolfbrand.

For now, their children will remain at Child Haven.

“It was our hope that they either place them back with the family or with family members, but because it’s such a short time, they still need more time to conduct their investigation,” said Ismael Santellan, Colleen Rimer’s attorney.

The judge felt the children had not undergone enough counseling to deal with the death of their special needs brother.

The Rimers will only be allowed supervised visits.

In the meantime, the two attorneys have nearly seven weeks to prepare for the next court date.

“We don't know if criminal charges will be forthcoming,” Santellan said.

The Rimers did not speak with reporters Friday, but one of the lawyers said they are surviving day-to-day.

“They are doing the best they can under a difficult situation. Not only do they have to deal with the loss of their child, but now, they have to deal with this process,” Santellan said.

Besides abuse and neglect allegations, the petition also claims the Rimers did not properly supervise the care of their special needs child.

The judge did leave the door open for the children to return home before the hearing. In order for that to happen, the children would have to undergo regular counseling.