Divorce is commonly thought of as a state law issue, which means that each state promulgates its own laws regulating divorce. We live in a highly mobile society and it is relatively easy for people to move from state to state. A child may be born in New York and move to California with one of its parents. Questions often arise as to where the divorce action should be filed and in legal terms, which court has jurisdiction to make custody issue determinations.
In an attempt to minimize the possibility of inconsistent and/or multiple rulings amongst the various courts, a uniform act was drafted in 1997. Since that time, it has been adopted by 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands. That act is called The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Massachusetts and Vermont are the only two states that have not adopted the UCCJEA.
The UCCJEA vests “exclusive (and) continuing jurisdiction” for child custody litigation in the courts of the child’s “home state,” which is defined as the state where the child has lived with a parent for six consecutive months prior to the commencement of the proceeding. For children younger than six months it is the state where the child has lived since birth.
The UCCJEA provides uniform rules for the courts to apply so that at least in theory, only one court is making custody orders. In practice however, custody proceedings may be pending in two different places at the same time. They can be two different states or even two different counties within a state. The UCCJEA does permit a state, which does not otherwise have jurisdiction to enter a temporary emergency order if the child is in danger and needs immediate protection.
When you file your initial divorce papers, one of the required papers is a UCCJEA declaration which requires you to provide the address of the children for the past five years and to indicate whether you are aware of any other pending custody proceedings involving the children. This helps to prevent the courts from issuing simultaneous custody awards, which may be contrary to one another.
For your family law needs, contact The Law Offices of Richard A. Marcus at 661-257-8877.