The Jurisdiction of Court Over a Child Custody in Albuquerque, NM

DOES ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO HAVE JURISDICTION OF A COURT OVER MY CHILD CUSTODY CASE?

Jurisdiction is a legal word that essentially means power. No jurisdiction – no power. Albuquerque New Mexico courts must have jurisdiction before determining issues such as child custody, parental time-sharing, and child support for a child.

Generally speaking, a child custody matter is started in N.M. when a parent files a Petition to Establish Paternity, Child Custody and parental time-sharing. Before this Petition can be filed, one must first discern whether a New Mexico. court has jurisdiction over the parties and the child.

Jurisdiction of a court is clear when both parents live in New Mexico., and the child was born in N.M. Jurisdictional issues become more complicated when a child’s parents live in separate states, or when a child is born in one state and then subsequently moves to a different state.

In situations where a child is born in one state and then moves to another state, the “Home State of the Child” is given priority in determining which state may exercise jurisdiction over the underlying child custody dispute.

HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO LIVE IN NEW MEXICO TO FILE FOR CHILD CUSTODY?

Generally speaking a parent must live in New Mexico in order to file for child custody. Whether a parent can file for child custody in New Mexico depends on the child’s “Home State.” The child’s “Home State” is the state where the child has lived with the parents, a parent, or a person acting as a parent, for at least six consecutive months before the child custody case is opened. In the case of a newborn, or a child less than six months old, the Home State is the state where the child has lived since birth.

Temporary absences are counted as part of the six month period.

As an example, New Mexico. is the Home State of the child at issue, when the child has lived in N.M. with a parent, or a person acting as a parent, for at least six consecutive months before the child custody proceeding is first opened. For a child less than six months old, New Mexico. is considered the Home State if the child has lived in N.M. from birth with a parent or person acting as the parent.

In either scenario, the initial child custody case could be opened in New Mexico., with the requisite Petition to Establish Paternity, Custody, Timesharing and Child Support.

The issue of jurisdiction becomes cloudy when a child custody case is initially opened in N.M., with a resulting custody order surrounding issues such child custody, parental timesharing, and child support. After this custody order is entered by a New Mexico. court, the child and one of the parents subsequently relocates to another state (i.e. Second State). In this situation, N.M. retains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of a court over the child custody dispute, provided that either party to the initial child custody case remains in New Mexico.

Let’s assume that a custody case is initially opened in N.M., with N.M. entering a custody order. Sometime in the future the child and one parent moves to another state (Second State), and then lives in the Second State for six consecutive months, giving Second State Home State jurisdiction. After the child has lived in Second State for six consecutive months, the parent either desires to modify N.M.’s existing custody order, or desires for Second State to adopt N.M.’s order as an order of its court, thereby granting Second State enforcement power over N.M.’s original order.

In this scenario the Second State could assert jurisdiction and modification power over the custody dispute provided that one of the following scenarios is present: (1) N.M. no longer has jurisdiction over the custody matter because neither party to the initial dispute still resides in N.M.; or (2) N.M. declines/relinquishes jurisdiction because it believes that the second state is a more appropriate forum.

As stated above, New Mexico. has the power to decline/relinquish jurisdiction if it determines that another state is a more appropriate forum to hear the child dispute. N.M. courts consider and balance the following factors, when deciding whether to assert or relinquish jurisdiction:

Has domestic violence taken place; if it’s likely to continue in the future, which state can provide the best protection for the parties and the child;
How long has the other state been the child’s Home State;
The distance between the court in NM and the state that would assume jurisdiction;
The financial means of both parties involving travel;
Prior agreements regarding the state that would assume jurisdiction;
The location and nature of the evidence required to decide the custody matter, such as the child’s testimony;
Each court’s ability to quickly and efficiently decide the custody issue; and
Which state has a closer connection with the child, or with the child and one or more of the parties? This factor also considers which state is more familiar with the facts and issues at playing within the custody dispute.

If N.M. ultimately decides that the Second State is a more appropriate forum, it will then “stay” (i.e. pause) its proceedings until proceedings are started in the second state.

As you can see, there are a number of different situations where two states must interact and then ultimately decide which state will assert jurisdiction over the child at issue. We have also seen that there are a number of different factors that determine which state has jurisdiction over a custody dispute. As a practical matter, the issue of which court will assert jurisdiction over a custody dispute is brought before both courts when one parent files a Motion requesting a UCCJEA teleconference. A hearing is then held allowing judges from both court houses to communicate through a UCCJEA teleconference. During this UCCJEA teleconference, judges from both states discuss the factors listed above to reach an ultimate decision on which court has jurisdiction over the child custody dispute at hand.

Once a decision is made, the parties can then move forward with the underlying child custody dispute in the state that has asserted jurisdiction over the matter.

(505) SANCHEZ IS HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT JURISDICTION OF A COURT OVER A CHILD CUSTODY IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

Do you still have questions about the court’s jurisdiction of a court over a child custody in Albuquerque, New Mexico? Child custody in Albuquerque often requires the experienced hand and knowledge that comes with years of courtroom practice. Matthew Legan Sanchez has the experience needed to handle your unique case. Sanchez can be reached by calling (505) SANCHEZ.