Often times, divorced or separated individuals seek to modify the terms of custody and parenting time agreements or orders long after the agreement or order was entered into or entered by a court. So, while New Jersey will continue to have jurisdiction over the request to modify that agreement or order, that jurisdiction may not last very long.
Pursuant to what is known as the UCCJEA, if the primary caretaker has lived in another state with the child for a long enough period of time, that state will likely have jurisdiction. While there are many technical reasons for this, the common sense reasons are as follows: 1. All of the evidence will be in the home state of the child if a hearing is necessary (psychologists, school records, etc.); 2. There is no longer a significant connection between the child and the state that had original jurisdiction; and 3. It would be inconvenient to have both the parent and child litigate the issues in the state that had original jurisdiction.
If you are seeking to modify an agreement or order that relates to custody and parenting time, it is important that you seek out an experienced family law attorney who can go over the law as it relates to jurisdiction.
