In our society where divorce is commonplace, child custody and visitation disputes continue to be an issue for families. Multi state child custody father and mother conflicts arise when one parent wants to relocate to another state to be with family or pursue a new job opportunity. One spouse would often take the children to their new home state and immediately seek a new custody order, preventing the other parent from having joint custody or being allowed visitation. Fortunately, federal legislation now seeks to stop this from happening.
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) was drafted in 1997 to bring the 1969 Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) into compliance with the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), along with other federal laws. It has since been adopted in all states except for Massachusetts and Vermont. New Hampshire will recognize this law on December 1, 2010. Both Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands have also enacted this, but Puerto Rico has not.
The primary objective in passing the UCCJEA is to determine which state will have jurisdiction regarding custody of the child, If the child resides in a state for six months or more, that will be considered the child’s “home state”. No other state court will have jurisdiction over the home state. It sets the standards regarding which court can make a custody determination and when the court must defer to a prior determination from another state. This is to control disputes when custody is an issue between the parents in different states.
Determining Custody Under the UCCJEA
In order to determine which state has the authority to issue child custody orders, the UCCJEA follows these rules:
- The home state is where the child has resided for at least six month prior to the start of child custody proceedings. Even if the child is not currently in the state at the time, but their parent continues to live in that state, this will be regarded as the home state.
- If no state has jurisdiction under the previous situation, then jurisdiction is where the child and at least one parent have a significant connection with the state.
- If no state has jurisdiction under any of the previous scenarios, jurisdiction will be given to any state that has a significant connection with the child.
A state that has jurisdiction may transfer it to another state upon request by the parties. Courts may have temporary emergency jurisdiction when a child has been abandoned or a parent or sibling has been threatened with abuse.
Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act
In 1980, Congress enacted the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, which requires each state to give full faith and credit to any custody decree, no matter which state had rendered the custody decision. It also prevents other states from modifying a custody order issued by any other state and creates a uniform standard for determining jurisdiction over interstate custody disputes. Prior to this law being passed, if the mother and child resided in one state and then the child went to visit dad in another state, he could run to court in his state and obtain a new child custody order. This law prevents one spouse from not returning the child to the other spouse after visitation. Local law enforcement must enforce this federal law as it trumps any state law when conflicts arise.
When to Hire a Family Law Attorney
Although the federal government has passed many laws addressing child custody issues, parental kidnapping is still the single most common reason for child abductions. If you have reason to believe that your child is in imminent danger of abuse or fear the other parent may flee the state with your child, you must obtain a warrant from the court. This petition must be filed in family court and granted by a judge before law enforcement can pick up the child. When you are facing serious child custody conflicts, you may want to seek legal guidance from a family law attorney in the state where you reside.
