If your child’s other parent moves to a different state with your child, you will likely need to use the UCCJEA to determine which state has jurisdiction. This article attempts to explain some of the aspects of the UCCJEA.
A huge factor in your divorce will be child custody. It is often the case that spouses move to a different state after divorce. It is possible that that spouse might take their child with them,
leaving you to wonder what court will have jurisdiction to render a child custody determination. In order to answer this question, you will probably have to look at the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the UCCJEA.
Before analyzing how the UCCJEA will be applied to your case, it is crucial that the UCCJEA actually apply in your jurisdiction. According to news reports, almost every state in the United States has adopted the UCCJEA, specifically this includes: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
There are two main purposes of the UCCJEA. The first is to provide some clarity on where jurisdiction will be when a child moves between states, regardless of whether the parties get a divorce. The primary ways of having a court to have jurisdiction is for the state to be the “home state” of the minor child when the legal proceedings are begun or was the “home state” at most six months before the beginning of the legal action for custody and one of the parents is still in the state. If no state has jurisdiction, then the state that will have jurisdiction where one of the parents has a significant connection and there is substantial evidence of the child’s connection to the state.
The other main prong of the UCCJEA is enforcement. This means that a custody award granted in one UCCJEA state should be given the effect of law in another UCCJEA state where the child is living. Also, the state that makes the initial child custody determination usually retains “continuing jurisdiction,” meaning that if you wished to have your custody arrangement modified you will likely have to go through the court where you originally obtained it.
While it is good that this law provides clarity among states, as to what state has jurisdiction, it is certainly a cause for concern for parents that have allowed their children to live with another parent for more than six months without ever having an initial child custody determination, regardless of the status of the divorce proceedings. The problem with this is that the parent who has allowed this will likely have to travel to the other state in order to get visitation with their child, and may be subject to that state’s child relocation laws.
The above article is meant to be just information. It is not professional legal advice, so please do not take it as such. Will Beaumont is a licensed attorney only in Louisiana. He currently has an office in Metairie and an office in New Orleans.
