History

• In 1997, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) drafted and approved the UCCJEA. Specifically, the UCCJEA was designed to create a clear jurisdictional situation by giving priority to the home state of the child, defining which state has jurisdiction after the initial proceeding, clarifying which state can exercise emergency jurisdiction, and providing a cost-effective remedy to custody determinations. As of 2010, according to the NCCUSL, every state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands had adopted the UCCJEA.
  
  

Defining Initial Child Custody Jurisdiction

• Under the UCCJEA, there are four factors a court must take into consideration when determining initial jurisdiction. The most important factor is the home state of the child, which is loosely defined as the state in which the child has spent the past six months. Another factor is how significant the connections are with the state. For example, a state is more likely to have initial jurisdiction if the family is consistently in a particular state for business, but a parent files a custody action in a different state. The other two, less important factors are which state is the most appropriate and which state will have jurisdiction by default, when no other state can claim jurisdiction.
  
  

Continuing Jurisdiction

• Once a state court determines it has jurisdiction and makes a child custody determination, that state will keep exclusive jurisdiction. This means that another state may not grant jurisdiction in the same matter. The exclusive jurisdiction is only broken if a court determines that neither the child, nor the child and at least one parent, have a connection in the state with initial jurisdiction.
  
  

Modifications to Child Custody Orders

• A particular state court may not modify the child custody order of another state's court. The only exception to this rule is when a state determines that it would have initial jurisdiction over the dispute. Only in this specific circumstance can a court modify another state's child custody order.
  
  

Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction

• A state court can exercise temporary jurisdiction over a child custody matter when the parent or parents have abandoned the child or there is a need to modify a custody order because the child is subjected to threatened abuse. An order issued by a court in this situation may become permanent if another state has not claimed, or does not claim, jurisdiction.