The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) applies to interstate and international custody disputes.1 The purpose of the UCCJEA is to avoid conflict and require cooperation and exchange of information among states regarding child custody matters. A court must have subject matter jurisdiction under the UCCJEA to make an initial child custody determination. The UCCJEA has been adopted by all fifty states. The UCCJEA also governs a court’s continuing jurisdiction over the custody dispute and jurisdiction to modify custody judgments.
The UCCJEA applies to all “child custody proceedings” in which legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child is at issue. A “child custody proceeding includes a proceeding for divorce, separation, neglect, abuse, dependency, guardianship, paternity, termination of parental rights and protection from family violence, in which the custody or visitation issue may appear.”2 A “child custody proceeding” does not include adoption, authorization for medical care, juvenile delinquency, contractual emancipation, or Hague Convention enforcement actions.3
A child custody proceeding that pertains to an Indian child, as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, is not subject to the UCCJEA to the extent that it is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act.4 The federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act governs full faith and credit for custody determinations and will preempt the UCCJEA where variances exist.5