What Is The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act?
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The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act is an act that was drafted by a commission that is dedicated to trying to make the laws of each state be compatible with the laws of the other states. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act was written in 1997, and has since 1997 been adopted and made law by a majority of the states in the United States. In fact, 45 of the 50 states have adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, as has the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. There are five states that have not adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, and they include Vermont, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri, and New Hampshire. Puerto Rico has not adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act gives jurisdiction over child custody cases to the courts in the home state of the child. The home state of the child, as defined in the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, is the state that the child lived in with at least one of the parents for six months before child custody was granted. For children under six years old, this is the state that they have lived in since birth.
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act sets in place specific methodologies and procedures that determine how child custody cases will find their way into court proceedings. In cases where there is a question about where the custody proceedings should take place, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act sets out a specific formula for deciding which state has jurisdiction. In addition, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act provides rules for how jurisdiction might change, such as when the child and his or her parent or parents have moved to another state. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act prevents other states from interfering in a child custody determination without the original state determining that they no longer should have jurisdiction.
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act also provides an emergency order situation in which, when the child is in danger, a state that is not the home state can make a temporary order.
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