How to Transfer Jurisdiction After a Change of Custody

Parents divorced in Illinois, with the mother receiving primary custody and the father ordered to pay support. The parents recently agreed that the children should live with their father, and the transfer has occurred, but the child support order remains in effect and the father is still paying child support -- which the mother has no interest in returning. The father now lives in Minnesota, and the mother now lives in North Carolina with her current husband. How can the father transfer the case to Minnesota to get an order that modifies custody and stops his child support payments?

The father needs to file a petition for modification of the custody order under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), and then petition for modification of support and custody through that court. The father should seek to modify child support ASAP, as it is all-but-given that any support he pays before the date he files his petition to modify is gone forever.

It's a bit tricky to file UCCJEA documents, although the courts offer standard forms for many custody issues once jurisdiction is established. Dad may want to speak to a custody lawyer in Minnesota about establishing jurisdiction in that state, particularly if the mother might try to regain custody if she believes either that support payments will end or that she'll end up having to pay child support to the father.