In multi state child custody cases where the father and mother live in different states, one of them has custody of the children, while the other parent wants custody of the children. As a result, there is a court case over who should have custody of the children and who should have visitation rights. The key statute in multi state child custody cases is the “Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act” (UCCJEA).
The Main Purpose of the UCCJEA
The main purpose of the UCCJEA is to ensure as much as possible that the children are not needlessly moved around from one state to another in an attempt by one of the parents to find a more favorable forum for his/her argument to have custody of the children.
Even when a court has ruled on which parent should have custody of the children, the other parent will often not accept this ruling and file an appeal of that ruling. The parent will often take the children at an unsuspecting moment without permission and try to find a state that will be more sympathetic and advantageous for the parent’s case to have custody of the children instead. The UCCJEA was established to try to prevent these types of actions from occurring, as the lives of the children could be adversely affected by such actions.
Highlights of the UCCJEA
To help keep parents from trying to find more advantageous states for their cases, the home state of the child will normally prevail. This is the state that can exercise child custody jurisdiction. The state must be the child’s home state on the date of the commencement of the proceeding or had been the child’s home state within the last 6 months before the commencement of the proceeding and the parent of the child still lives in that state.
If a parent lives in the state that has child custody jurisdiction, but has engaged in unjustifiable conduct, that court will not exercise its jurisdiction. Unjustifiable conduct can include kidnapping, concealing the whereabouts of the child, domestic violations, lying in court, or violating an existing court order.
In the event that the child does not have a home state by law and there has been no unjustifiable conduct, the most convenient forum will have jurisdiction. The most convenient forum will have the easiest access to relevant witnesses, documents and Child Protection Services’ investigations, as well as the most relevant knowledge about the case itself.
Obtaining Legal Help
A multi state child custody case can be a difficult and challenging time for all involved, especially the children. An established and experienced attorney will know the federal, state, and UCCJEA laws that apply to your case and will present the strongest possible case to ensure that all of your rights are represented and that a judgment is reached that will be satisfactory to all parties involved and will protect the rights and well-being of the children.
