The UCCJEA is an acronym for the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act. The UCCJEA can be found in Chapter 125A of the Nevada. The UCCJEA is the law outlining how and when the State of Nevada has jurisdiction over children. The UCCJEA is not exclusive to the State of Nevada. Every jurisdiction within the United States has some version of the UCCJEA so there is consistency between States regarding what Court has the authority to issue rulings over child custody issues and to avoid unnecessary delay or inconsistent rulings.
Just because you live in Nevada does not mean that the Nevada Court has jurisdiction to issue Orders regarding your children. On reason the UCCJEA is in place to avoid forum shopping, moving from State to State thus causing a change in Judges/Court.
The first thing that the firm asks is whether there is an Order that has been issued and what states issued that Order. Additionally, it must be known where the child/ren were residing when the Order was issued and where the child/ren are now. This starts the dialog regarding jurisdiction. Knowing whether an Order has been issued, when it was issued and what Court issued the Order is important to determining jurisdiction so the next course of action can be determined.
If an Order has been issued, then we inquire regarding what Court issued the Order. If it is a Court outside of Nevada, we then determine whether the parents or person(s) acting as a parent remain in the other jurisdiction and where the child is located. We do this because under the UCCJEA, if a child and parent or someone acting as a parent remain in the jurisdiction that issued the Order, then that jurisdiction maintains continuing exclusive jurisdiction in most cases. There is a very narrow argument regarding emergency issues and safety that might allow a different jurisdiction to issue Orders on a limited or temporary basis.
If an Order has not been issued, then we inquire about where the child/ren has been for the last six (6) months. We do that because we are trying to determine the “home state” of the minor child/ren. Under most circumstances, the State of Nevada cannot exercise jurisdiction unless the child/ren has been present in the State of Nevada for six (6) months prior to filing. Again, there is a very narrow argument regarding jurisdiction in circumstances less than six (6) months.
It is very helpful if parents and children have moved frequently to have readily accessible a calendar with the dates and addresses where the parents and children have resided. This information is used in custody-related litigation to file a UCCJEA Declaration, so that the Court can make a proper determination regarding child custody jurisdiction to either enforce or modify an existing Order.
If you have jurisdictional issues, make sure that you understand the basics of the UCCJEA and/or that you have Counsel familiar with the arguments necessary to establish where jurisdiction is proper.