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Jurisdiction in Child Custody and Abduction Cases: A Judge's Guide to the UCCJA, PKPA, and the Hague Child Abduction Convention

NCJ Number
170556
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 48 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1997)
Author(s)
P M Hoff; A E Volenik; L K Girdner
Date Published
1997
Length
184 pages
Annotation
This volume contains a comprehensive study of jurisdiction in child custody and abduction cases that is specifically designed for use by the judiciary; the volume is a valuable resource for judges faced with deciphering requirements of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA), the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), and the Hague Convention of the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Abstract
The volume focuses on civil aspects of interstate and international child custody and abduction cases. Based on the UCCJA, the PKPA, the Hague Convention, and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (ICARA), the volume explains when a court has jurisdiction to make an initial custody determination and to modify an existing custody order and when a court should decline to exercise jurisdiction. The first chapter presents an overview of the UCCJA, the PKPA, the Hague Convention, and the ICARA. Subsequent chapters identify custody proceedings to which these statutes must be applied, pleading requirements of the UCCJA, when and how judges should communicate and cooperate with each other to avoid interjurisdictional conflicts, and jurisdictional rules of the UCCJA and the PKPA that apply to initial custody and custody modification cases. Other chapters contain a guide to drafting custody orders; information on the interstate duty to enforce custody determinations; and information on laws applicable to international child custody, visitation, and abduction cases. Final chapters discuss when judges can award attorney fees and travel and other expenses in custody, visitation, and abduction cases and the draft Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. Appendixes provide additional information on the UCCJA, the PKPA, the Hague Convention, and the ICARA. Endnotes