As part of the father's job as a civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense, the parties and their two children relocated from Maryland to Germany in January 2020, with a scheduled return date of January 2025. However, at some point, the parties became estranged and the Mother returned to … Read More about Case Update (1 Mar 2023): Beauchamps v. Beauchamps; Maryland appellate court affirms dismissing custody case for parties to litigate in Germany
Case Update (28 Dec 2021): Cortez v. Cortez; UCCJEA and loss of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction
Almost one year to the day, the Court of Appeals of Texas reversed and remanded its prior decision in the matter of Cortez v. Cortez. On December 29, 2020, the court had affirmed a trial judge, who had concluded Texas no longer had continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under the UCCJEA over the … Read More about Case Update (28 Dec 2021): Cortez v. Cortez; UCCJEA and loss of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction
Case Update (2021): Pokrovskaya v. Van Genderen; UCCJEA inconvenient forum
Mother and Father divorced in Wyoming in 2016. They are parents to one child. The Wyoming Court awarded Father custody, with Mother having 10 days of visitation each month. The Mother resided, and continues to reside, in Russia. In 2018, the Father and child moved to Russia, spent the 2019 … Read More about Case Update (2021): Pokrovskaya v. Van Genderen; UCCJEA inconvenient forum
Case Update (2021): Christensen v. Seckin; modification jurisdiction under UCCJEA
The minor child at issue was born in Turkey in 2013. In 2017, Mr. Christensen and Ms. Seckin reached an agreement resolving custody of their minor child. At the time, Mr. Christensen lived in Alaska, and Ms. Seckin and their child lived in Turkey. In an August 2017 Turkish order, Ms. Seckin was … Read More about Case Update (2021): Christensen v. Seckin; modification jurisdiction under UCCJEA
Case Update (2021): Greenbank v. Vanzant, loss of continuing exclusive jurisdiction, interplay with grandparent visitation
On March 9, 2021, the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed its trial court in Greenbank v. Vanzant. Ms. Vanzant, the paternal grandmother of the child at issue, negotiated a Visitation Agreement with Ms. Greenbank, the child's mother and only living parent. That Visitation Agreement … Read More about Case Update (2021): Greenbank v. Vanzant, loss of continuing exclusive jurisdiction, interplay with grandparent visitation
Case Update (2021): FY v. JL; jurisdiction to modify a foreign child support order
In the unpublished opinion of FY v. JL, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division denied a Mother's attempt to modify the parties' Chinese child support order. The parties, parents to a minor child born in China in 2006, entered into a Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) in … Read More about Case Update (2021): FY v. JL; jurisdiction to modify a foreign child support order
Case Update (2020): Cortez v. Cortez; UCCJEA, connections sufficient to maintain continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify a custody order
The Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston affirmed the trial court in Cortez v. Cortez on December 29, 2020, which found that Texas no longer had continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its custody order.Mr. and Ms. Cortez are parents to two sons, both born in Texas, but who moved to Mexico a few … Read More about Case Update (2020): Cortez v. Cortez; UCCJEA, connections sufficient to maintain continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify a custody order
Case Update (2020): JS v. RSS; modification of custody order, continuing exclusive jurisdiction under the UCCJEA, relocation of child overseas
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania, in JS v. RSS, addressed an issue of an international relocation and a U.S. court's subject matter jurisdiction over a custody modification action. The facts are long and twisted, but the salient ones are: the parents divorced in 2015. The father sought … Read More about Case Update (2020): JS v. RSS; modification of custody order, continuing exclusive jurisdiction under the UCCJEA, relocation of child overseas