Interstate Custody Disputes (provided by Max D. Harris, Esq.) When separated parents live in separate states and have a dispute about the custody of their children, there may arise a question about which state should hear the matter. If the parents disagree about which state should have jurisdiction, usually each parent wants the state they live in to be the state which exercises jurisdiction. Does it matter? Generally, yes. Although the courts try to be impartial between citizens and out-of-state parties, the person who lives in the state which exercises jurisdiction seems to have some advantages, if even only the advantage of being closer to the court divorce laws dallas divorce attorney and being able to more easily produce witnesses. And sometimes a party will want a particular state's law to apply because it is felt to be more favorable to that party's objectives. SOURCES OF LAW There are two sources of statutory law which apply to the determination of which state should take child custody jurisdiction; the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) and the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA). The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) is a model act designed to be adopted by each state to produce a generally uniform law across the nation. All fifty states have now adopted the UCCJA, but some states have california alimony calculator dallas divorce attorney made (usually) minor changes to the UCCJA as adopted in their state. Therefore a lawyer involved in an interstate custody jurisdiction dispute will study how both states involved have adopted the UCCJA. The UCCJA is codified in Wisconsin as Chapter 822 of Wisconsin Statutes. The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA) is a federal law that was passed because the UCCJA didn't always provide a clear answer as to which state should take jurisdiction because each state could interpret and apply it differently. The PKPA, as we will see, is very similar in some respects to the UCCJA, but it strengthens the preference for the "home state" dallas divorce attorney dallas divorce attorney to take jurisdiction,
