Also known as: child custody determinations · custody determination
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judgment, decree, or other order of a court providing for the custody of a child, including permanent and temporary orders as well as initial orders and modifications.
After proper service on both parents and a full hearing, a State A court issues an order awarding primary physical custody of their son to the mother. The father later attempts to relitigate the same issues in the same court. The prior order conclusively resolves all decided issues of law and fact because the court possessed jurisdiction under the Act and afforded the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard.
Cody Callahan and Christine Castro separate while living in State B with their daughter. Cody files a custody petition in State B six weeks after Christine moves with the child to State C. Because State B was the child's home state on the date the proceeding commenced, the State B court may enter an initial child-custody determination that will be recognized elsewhere.
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A State D court awarded Cameron Cruz primary custody of the couple's twins. Two years later the father petitions in State E, where the children now reside with him, to modify the decree. The State E court may not modify the determination unless it first finds that State D no longer has exclusive continuing jurisdiction or that State E would be a more convenient forum.
After the original decree granted Chloe Chen primary custody, the child began living full-time with the father and attending school in his district. The father petitions to modify the order. The court may grant the modification upon a showing of changed conditions that affect the child's best interests and were not known at the time of the original decree.
Caleb Chang, a New York resident, permits his children to visit their mother in California for an extended summer stay. The mother then files a custody action in California seeking to modify the New York decree. The California court lacks personal jurisdiction over the father because his limited contacts with the state do not satisfy due-process requirements.
A State F court enters a custody decree consistent with the federal statute. When the mother later moves to State G with the child, the father registers the decree in State G and seeks enforcement. State G must enforce the order according to its terms and may not modify it unless the statutory conditions for modification are met.
The term includes any judgment, decree, or order of a court that provides for legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child. It covers permanent and temporary orders as well as initial orders and later modifications.
A court may modify another state's determination only if it has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under the home-state or significant-connection standards and the original state has lost exclusive continuing jurisdiction or declined to exercise it.
A determination binds only those persons who were served or notified in accordance with the Act, submitted to the court's jurisdiction, and given an opportunity to be heard. As to those persons the order is conclusive on all decided issues of law and fact unless later modified.
…Court of Appeal by petition for a writ of mandate. Appellant did not contest the court's jurisdiction for purposes of the custody determination, but, with respect to the claim for increased support, he renewed his argument that the California courts lacked personal jurisdiction over him. The appellate court affirmed the denial of…