Child custody when a child is taken out of state

Recently, I had a chance to chat with an individual who had questions about her son. In brief, she requested:

My son and his father moved from Virginia to Nebraska in June 2014. We were never married and we both lived in Virginia when my son was born. My son's dad got awarded full custody in 2008. I have visitation every other weekend. Since they moved to Nebraska, I haven't seen my son in 10 months. I'm not a pedophile but they're treating me as if I've done something wrong. What can I do?

Generally, under the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act), the court that last had jurisdiction over the case, retains jurisdiction unless challenged. In this case, it appears that the last court that had control was in VA. Ergo, you could file in VA for a "show cause" hearing as to why your ex-partner is not honoring the Court Order that requires him to provide visitation to you.

UCCJEA = Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
Covers a variety of topics, but three points are good ones to always remember with the UCCJEA:

1. The court that entered the last order has jurisdiction and must release it for any other court to have control.
2. For an eligible court to "take control", a the child and one parent must have lived in the new jurisdiction for at least six months.
3. Child custody matters are NOT controlled by the UCCJEA.

However, be advised that under the UCCJEA, your ex-partner can now file in Nebraska. The rule holds that once a the child, and one parent, have lived in a new jurisdiction for at least six months, that new jurisdiction may take control of the case. I would expect your ex-partner to file in Nebraska if you file in VA, and seek to have the case transferred there. Likely, he would succeed.

Fighting UCCJEA cases is neither cheap, nor easy. In the end, the judges from both jurisdictions will have a chat (they must, by statute), and determine what court will retain the case. This means that you should expect to retain an attorney in each jurisdiction if your ex really does file to move the case to Nebraska.

Do you have a question concerning family law? Email us or call 1-800-579-9864. We provide free initial consultations, and a friendly shoulder to lean on!

Hanover Law, PC
Offices in Fairfax, VA and Washington, DC
www.hanoverlawpc.com		Lili O'connell, Esq. Abby Archer, Esq.
888 16th St., NW Ste 800 Washington, DC 20006	2751 Prosperity Ave, Ste 580 Fairfax, VA 22031	Sean R. Hanover, Esq. Stephen Salwierak, Esq.
1-800-579-9864	admin@hanoverlawpc.com	Charles Hatley, Esq.

Who will hear my child support/custody case?

A question of jurisdiction and venue:

I was recenlty asked the following question in an online forum:

I live in Virginia and my husband and I separated 7 years ago. We have a child custody agreement but no child support agreement; I want to file for child support and to change the custody agreement but I don't live in the county where it was filed. Should I file for the custody case to be transfered to the county I will be filing for child support? Should I transfer it first and then file for support?

Venue vs. Jursidiction...just how does this work?

Answer:
Great question! We lawyers talk about jursidiction and venue all the time...well, more appropriately, jurisdiction. Rarely is venue an issue in a divorce/child support case. The proper location for divorce is circuit court. The proper venue for custody and support issue is Juvenile and Domstict Relations Court (J&DR), a subset of circuit. There you go -- venue solved.

The question is -- did you appeal you original J&DR determination? An appeal from J&DR goes to Circuit -- so you need to make sure the case is really still in J&DR.

That notwithstanding, any J&DR court in VA has jurisdiction to hear the case. If your ex does not want you to bring the case where you are now, he can file a "forum non-conveniens". Usually, that is reserved for jurisdiction arguments, but it can be argued for venue, too -- but only if filed timely after you bring the suit.

Your case for hearing it local to you is further bolstered if the child (children?) live with you now. But this is just icing on the cake (or a handy way of smushing a forum-non-conveniens filing).

The code section for Virginia dealing with venu is: VA CODE §8.01-257 (venue, generally). Dealing with children and J&DR matters: VA CODE §16.1-243(b).

Need help with figuring all this out? Give us a ring! We'll be glad to chat with you further. 703-402-2723.

Sean Hanover, Esq.
Hanover Law
www.hanoverlawpc.com
Offices in Fairfax and DC
888 16th St. NW
Washington, DC 20006