Guide · Family Law

Relocation and Interstate Custody: A Comprehensive Guide to the UCCJEA, Jurisdiction, and Move-Away Cases

28 U.S.C. § 1738

Type
Guide
Jurisdiction
National
Date
2025-10-21
Topic
Family Law

This guide covers relocation and interstate custody from the jurisdictional threshold through enforcement of an order across state lines. Part 1 sets out the jurisdictional architecture, which decides more cases than the merits do. Parts 2 and 3 cover initial jurisdiction, continuing exclusive jurisdiction, emergency jurisdiction, registration, and inconvenient forum, with the errors that recur at each step. Part 4 covers relocation notice statutes and the content that makes a notice letter an asset rather than a liability. Parts 5 and 6 cover burden allocation and the factors courts weigh regardless of who carries the burden. Part 7 covers the long-distance parenting plan in drafting detail. Part 8 covers evidence and the custody evaluation. Parts 9 through 12 cover military parents, domestic violence, international relocation under the Hague framework, and enforcement, modification, and the errors that recur on both sides.

Relocation and Interstate Custody: A Comprehensive Guide to the UCCJEA, Jurisdiction, and Move-Away Cases

Family Law > Relocation and Interstate Custody | Published 21 October 2025 - Updated 2 August 2026 | UpLaw - uplaw.us

Two bodies of law meet in these cases and they are frequently confused. Jurisdiction determines which court may decide. Relocation law determines what that court should decide. A great deal of wasted litigation comes from arguing the second question in a forum that cannot reach it.

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