Home State Custody Jurisdiction When Child Relocated to Arizona

Mon 17th Dec, 2018 Arizona Child Custody Laws

Parents need to understand home state custody jurisdiction when a child is relocated to Arizona.

It is not unusual for a parent who has legal custody of a child from another state to move to Arizona with their child.

Does the question become which state court has home state child custody jurisdiction when a child relocated to Arizona with his or her parent?

The answer to this question is important if a parent seeks to modify that child custody order in an Arizona court.

The Arizona Court of Appeals in the published case of Prouty vs. Hughes answered that question for us.

Mother, in that case, was awarded sole custody of the parties’ child from a court in Illinois where the mother and child resided.

Mother subsequently relocated with the child from Illinois to Arizona.

Mother’s boyfriend, Mr. Hughes, filed but did not register the Illinois child custody orders in Arizona when he sought and obtained emergency custody of Mother’s child.

The child’s biological father, Mr. Kafka, subsequently filed his own motion in Arizona to modify the Illinois child custody orders.

During the hearing on the natural father’s motion to modify the Illinois child custody order, the Arizona judge assigned to the case raised concerns that the Illinois child custody orders were not properly registered in Arizona under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

The child’s natural father, thereafter, registered the Illinois child custody orders in Arizona.

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When that occurred, Mother fled back to Illinois with the children.

The Arizona court then issued child custody orders awarding Father custody of the parties’ daughter and issuing a warrant for the return of the child to father.

Mother filed for a restraining order on behalf of the child’s daughter against her father and argued, in the Illinois court, the Arizona court did not have jurisdiction to issue its child custody orders because she only lived sporadically in Arizona and because the Illinois court order was not properly domesticated in Arizona.

Both the Illinois court and the Arizona court made findings that Arizona was the home state of the child and properly executed jurisdiction to modify the Illinois child custody orders.

Registration of Out of State Order Not Required to Modify Child Custody Orders

Home State Custody Jurisdiction When Child Relocated to Arizona

The Arizona Court of Appeals concluded that the Illinois child custody orders were not properly registered under the Uniform

Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (i.e., “UCCJEA”) in Arizona before the Arizona judge modified the Illinois child custody orders.

The next question became whether failing to properly register the Illinois child custody orders rendered the trial judge’s orders modify those orders void.

The Arizona Court of Appeals concluded that the provisions of the UCCJEA do not require a foreign state’s child custody order be properly registered in Arizona before an Arizona judge may modify those child custody orders assuming Arizona would otherwise have jurisdiction under the UCCJEA to modify those orders.

Arizona, likewise, may exercise child custody jurisdiction to modify another state’s child custody orders if either (1) the other state has determined it no longer should have child custody jurisdiction or (2) a court in Arizona determine that neither parent nor the child continues to live in the other state.

If you have questions about home state custody jurisdiction when child relocated to Arizona, you should seriously consider contacting the attorneys at Hildebrand Law, PC. Our Arizona child custody and family law attorneys have decades of combined experience successfully representing clients in child custody and family law cases.

Our family law firm has earned numerous awards such as US News and World Reports Best Arizona Family Law Firm, US News and World Report Best Divorce Attorneys, “Best of the Valley” by Arizona Foothills readers, and “Best Arizona Divorce Law Firms” by North Scottsdale Magazine.

Call us today at (480)305-8300 or reach out to us through our appointment scheduling form to schedule your personalized consultation and turn your child custody or family law case around today.

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