Also known as: child's home state · childs home state · home state
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The state in which a child lived with a parent or person acting as parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before commencement of a child-custody proceeding. A period of temporary absence counts toward the period. The designation supplies the primary basis for a court to exercise initial jurisdiction over custody determinations.
Craig Caldwell moved with his daughter to State A and lived there continuously for seven months before filing a custody petition. The court treated State A as the child's home state and exercised jurisdiction over the initial determination. The six-month residence period was satisfied even though the move followed a family dispute.
Chloe Chen and her son resided in State B for eight months before she commenced a custody proceeding there. Because State B met the home-state test on the filing date, the court assumed jurisdiction under the primary statutory ground. The child's temporary summer visit to grandparents did not interrupt the consecutive-month count.
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Camila Cervantes left State C with her child four months before filing in State D. State D declined jurisdiction because State C remained the home state and the other parent still resided there. The four-month absence fell inside the six-month look-back period that preserves home-state status.
Caleb Chang filed in State E after the child had lived in State F for nine months. State E lacked home-state jurisdiction under paragraph (1) and therefore examined whether substantial evidence and significant connections existed in State E. The home-state designation of State F controlled the threshold analysis.
Christian Coleman established a new residence with his child in State G and remained there for the statutory period before seeking custody modification. The court identified State G as the home state because the consecutive-month requirement was met. The prior state's jurisdiction ended once the child and both parents no longer resided there.
Carlos Castillo and his child lived exclusively in State H for the six months preceding the custody filing. The court recognized State H as the home state and proceeded to the merits. The designation prevented simultaneous proceedings in the state where the parents had previously maintained a marital home.
The child must have lived with a parent or person acting as parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the proceeding begins. Temporary absences are included in the calculation.
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The original state retains home-state status for six months after the child's departure provided a parent or person acting as parent continues to live there. The new state cannot claim home-state jurisdiction until that window closes.
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When no state qualifies as the home state, courts turn to the significant-connection test under UCCJEA section 201(a)(2). That test requires both a significant connection and substantial evidence concerning the child's care.
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The state that made the original determination retains exclusive continuing jurisdiction until it determines that neither the child nor the child and a parent maintain a significant connection with that state. Only then may another state exercise home-state jurisdiction to modify.
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…that cases involving the personal status of the plaintiff, such as divorce actions, could be adjudicated in the plaintiff's home State even though the defendant could not be served within that State. 95 U. S., at 733-735. Similarly, the opinion approved the practice of considering a foreign corporation doing business in a…