Uccjea Affidavit

When parents live in different states, one of the states will have jurisdiction over the custody arrangements.If you and the other parent do not agree on which state has jurisdiction over your custody arrangements, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act determines which state has jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which has been adopted by Florida and 48 other states. Under Florida law, a Florida court can make an initial child custody ruling if Florida is the home state of the child on the date the proceeding involving child custody issues was commenced.

WHAT TYPE OF LAW IS IT? The UCCJEA is a uniform state law1 drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Many states have replaced the older Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) with the UCCJEA. At present, more than thirty states have enacted their own versions of the UCCJEA.

Determining a Child's Home StateJurisdiction will lie in the child's home state, or in a state where the child has resided for the six months prior to the filing of the action. Any parent seeking custody must also reside in the state in which the custody action is filed for six months prior to filing the action.

Jurisdiction in the courts of a particular state may be determined by the location of real property in a state (in rem jurisdiction), or whether the parties are located within the state (in personam jurisdiction).

Evidence of parenting ability: Courts look for evidence that the parent requesting custody is genuinely able to meet the child's physical and emotional needs, including food, shelter, clothing, medical care, education, emotional support, and parental guidance.

Child custody cases are filed in the jurisdiction of the family court/competent court where minor child ordinarily resides. For example, father is living in Mumbai.Thus, family court or concerned competent court shall have the exclusive jurisdiction over the child custody to the exclusion of all other courts.

The purpose of the UCCJEA is to allow states to determine which states has jurisdiction regarding custody and visitation and for the court to determine who has home state jurisdiction.

This Bulletin describes the Uniform Child- Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (the UCCJEA),1 the most recent in a series of laws designed to deter interstate pa- rental kidnapping and promote uniform jurisdiction and enforcement provisions in interstate child-custody and visitation cases.