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Interstate Child Custody Enforcement

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act reconsiders the problem of interstate custody disputes thirty years after the enactment of Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.

The current law has two purposes. Firstly, the law revises custody jurisdiction in light of federal statutes and incongruous cases. The law tries to present a clearer position on which state has original jurisdiction over a child-custody determination. The law also articulates a standard for ongoing jurisdiction and clarifies modification jurisdiction. Other features of the statute synchronize the laws on simultaneous proceedings, clean hands, and forum non conveniens. Several obsolete sections of the original UCCJA were omitted from the new version.

Secondly, the new law presents an expedited procedure to enforce interstate child custody and visitation determinations. The goal was to bring uniformity to the law of interstate enforcement that was considered messy.

The following links provide information on how interstate child custody disputes are handled and resolved in Minnesota courts.