The UCCJA based jurisdiction on a child’s
close affiliation with a State. Specifically, it
established four jurisdictional grounds:
◆ Home State (reserved for the State in
which the child has lived for at least 6
months preceding commencement of
the action).
◆ Significant connection (exists when a
State has substantial evidence about a
child as a result of the child’s significant connections to that State).
◆ Emergency (governs situations such as
abandonment or abuse that require
immediate protective action).
◆ Vacuum (applies when no other jurisdictional basis exists).
Except in emergency cases, the UCCJA
eliminated a child’s physical presence in a
State as grounds for exercising jurisdiction. As a result, a court could no longer
base jurisdiction solely on a child’s presence in the State, nor would a child’s
absence from the State necessarily deprive the court of jurisdiction. Under the
UCCJA’s extended home State rule, a leftbehind parent could petition for custody
in the child’s home State even after an
abduction. The UCCJA also required
States to enforce and not modify valid
custody and visitation orders made by
sister States.
Initial child support jurisdiction under UIFSA is not as clear cut, and states may invoke initial child support jurisdiction in many ways. An obligor may inadvertently submit to jurisdiction. But once the first state has gained child support jurisdiction, the rules are clear on how that can be changed or modified.