state jurisdiction

My sister is divorced. At the time, her and her x lived in Tenn. They have 1 Daughter that is now 4 yrs. old. The divorce was granted in the state of Tennessee.

Her x keeps petitioning the courts in Tenn. to change visitation and to try and get custody of the child.

He is a legal resident of California. She is a legal resident of New York.

The question is: Is my sister in New York bound by the Tennessee court decisions?

I feel that there is something underhanded going on in this situation. The attorneys for each drafted what they felt was agreed upon in court and the Judge would only sign what the x's lawyer submitted even though it CLEARLY violates my sisters' rights.

Change of visitation usually is dealt with by the state in which the child resides. Residency of that state is considered after 6 months. I'm not sure I understand why TN would have jusisdiction, unless the kids have not resided in NY for 6 months or more.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ckaswell:
[b]Her x keeps petitioning the courts in Tenn. to change visitation and to try and get custody of the child.
The question is: Is my sister in New York bound by the Tennessee court decisions?
[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

How long has she been in NY ?. What is in the original divorce agreement regarding custody of the child ?.

Custody is only changed if there has been a major change in circumstances. If your sister was awarded phyiscal custody and has not abused or neglected the child then there is little chance of a custody change. However, we would need to know more about the moves to other states before that can be answered properly as a state move (without permission), ‘can’ be grounds enough.

Also, what is happening to all these petitions he is filing in TN ?.. What are they all for ?

Paula is right with regards to jurisidiction, with one addition, TN can continue to claim jurisdiction if any filings were made BEFORE you had been away from TN for 6 months. So, if after being in NY for 4 months, your ex files for custody in TN, then generally TN will continue jurisdiction. What you will need to do, is defend/defeat any action in TN.. and then get a NY attorney to file your divorce aggreement/visitation etc into the local NY county court.

If you have been away from TN for 6 months and during those 6 months there were no filings, then you can ask a TN attorney to dismiss them claiming they no longer have jurisdiction. It will then be for your ex to get a NY attorney and file a foreign divorce agreement into the court system and pursue action in NY

Jurisdiction is complicated


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[b]SMILE - Start Making It Livable for Everyone[/b]

Divorce is a process over which children have no control. Children should not be its victims.
When parents are under stress, it is harder to be in touch with their children's pain and anguish.
It takes time, effort, and planning on the part of the parents to be able to provide for the children's needs.
In the crisis of divorce, parents may put their children on hold while they attend to adult problems first.
Sometimes separating/divorced parents find that their roles and expectations are undefined and cloudy.
If handled properly, divorce need not be devastating for children.

[This message has been edited by usdeeper (edited July 27, 2000).]

one good thing that your sister has going for her is that even if some tennessee judge grants dad in california visitation rights over a child in new york, dad is going to run into a lot of difficulty finding anyone in new york to enforce an out of state court order, so if mom decides to deny him visitation, he might not have any choice but to open up a case in new york, which could take a lot of time, money and inconvenience that he probably wouldn't spend on the matter or it would be in new york court already.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by usdeeper:
[b] How long has she been in NY ?. What is in the original divorce agreement regarding custody of the child ?.

Custody is only changed if there has been a major change in circumstances. If your sister was awarded phyiscal custody and has not abused or neglected the child then there is little chance of a custody change. However, we would need to know more about the moves to other states before that can be answered properly as a state move (without permission), ‘can’ be grounds enough.

Also, what is happening to all these petitions he is filing in TN ?.. What are they all for ?

Paula is right with regards to jurisidiction, with one addition, TN can continue to claim jurisdiction if any filings were made BEFORE you had been away from TN for 6 months. So, if after being in NY for 4 months, your ex files for custody in TN, then generally TN will continue jurisdiction. What you will need to do, is defend/defeat any action in TN.. and then get a NY attorney to file your divorce aggreement/visitation etc into the local NY county court.

If you have been away from TN for 6 months and during those 6 months there were no filings, then you can ask a TN attorney to dismiss them claiming they no longer have jurisdiction. It will then be for your ex to get a NY attorney and file a foreign divorce agreement into the court system and pursue action in NY

Jurisdiction is complicated

[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My Comment:

That was a well-thought dissertation on jurisdiction. My compliments.

IAAL



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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by someone's guardian:
[b]one good thing that your sister has going for her is that even if some tennessee judge grants dad in california visitation rights over a child in new york, dad is going to run into a lot of difficulty finding anyone in new york to enforce an out of state court order, so if mom decides to deny him visitation, he might not have any choice but to open up a case in new york, which could take a lot of time, money and inconvenience that he probably wouldn't spend on the matter or it would be in new york court already.[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


That is not strictly true. Denying visitation is a bad thing period unless you have good reason. If she did this, then all he would have to do is get a local attorney in NY and then have him file the 'foreign' agreement into the local county court near her residence. In MI this is just a $100 cost. Then you request your hearing etc. File a Order to Show Cause and attack her that way.

Since all states have adopted the UCCJA (plus UCCJAEA and others), enforcement is now relatively easy. It may delay things though. There is one good thing about moving states though, from all I have read, judges in new states do not like to modify custody agreements made by judges in another state unless there is a major change of circumstances. I know this is the same in all custody battles, but it seems more so when a new state is involved.

What is not in our posters favour is that since both parties have left ‘home state’ then she could be liable for upto 50% of all travel costs associated with the fathers visitation. Also the father can research NY laws and see that he can get changes made to the parenting agreement that were not available to him in TN.

For us, we have learned a lot and before we move to another state, will be having a very long chat with a local attorney to ensure there are no surprises.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE:
[b] That was a well-thought dissertation on jurisdiction. My compliments.
[/b]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why thank you great sire.. Jurisdiction is my specialty