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Uniform Custody Act

The overall spirit of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act is that the courts of the various states involved should cooperate to figure out what court is the most appropriate to hear the case.

Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, a state's court will hear the case if any of the following is true:

• The state is the child's home state.
• The state had been the child's home state within six months before the case started, and the child was moved out of the state, and a parent or someone acting as a parent lives in the state.
• It is in the best interest of the child for the court to take the case because the child and at least one parent have a significant connection with the state, and there exists in the state substantial evidence about the child's present and future care, protection, training, and relationships.
• The child is present in the state and there is some kind of emergency, such as an abusive parent or neglect.
• It appears that no other state will take the case and the court determines that it is in the best interest of the child that this court do so. The court generally will not take a case if the matter is already being heard elsewhere. The court will generally honor the custody decrees of another state.

Note: The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws have published a new proposed law to take the place of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act. The new proposed law is called the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. The proposed law provides clearer standards in a number of areas.

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