Dealing With Custody and Visitation Across State Borders

Even in ideal situations where both parents live near each other and are in agreement and cooperative, child custody can be a complex matter. It takes a lot of day-to-day logistics and communication to ensure that children can spend time with each parent while the family also supports academics, social activities, and extracurriculars along with the physical and mental health of the children.

If you throw in other factors, such as contested father’s rights, disagreements on visitation or how to approach a child’s education, or the need to manage custody across state lines, matters can become even more challenging.

Challenges in Enforcing Visitation Rights Across State Lines

Dealing with custody matters when the parents or other adults involved live in two different states can be especially challenging legally and practically.

Jurisdictional Disputes

One legal challenge that you might face if you are trying to manage custody when the other parent lives out of state relates to jurisdictional disputes. It can be important to understand what court has the initial child custody jurisdiction and how that jurisdiction might change in the future. A family law attorney can help you understand which courts you need to work within so you can most efficiently manage a multi-state child custody case.

Different State Laws

State laws regarding how child custody is managed and what the courts’ roles are regarding custody agreements vary. You may need to abide by the laws of the state that has jurisdiction in your case, but it’s important to know how the different laws might impact your case.

Parent Noncompliance

In a child custody case, there is always the chance that the other parent will simply refuse to abide by court orders or previous agreements. This can be stressful to deal with in any case, but when the other parent lives hours or states away, it can be an especially frustrating challenge. If the parent refuses to bring a child back after a visitation or cooperate in facilitating an ordered visitation, it can take more effort and resources to force compliance.

Logistical Barriers for Visitation

On top of legal challenges, interstate child custody cases also typically come with logistical obstacles. When parents live hours apart, traditional shared custody arrangements don’t usually work. A child may not be able to live with one parent one week and the other parent the next, and even regular weekend visitations may be difficult to support when they involve hours of driving.

Some Tips for Strategies to Enforce Visitation Rights Across State Lines

While there are certainly challenges, it is not impossible to create and support a viable custody agreement even when parents or other involved adults don’t live in the same state.

Understand the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, or UCCJEA, is a federal law that is designed to address cases where parents don’t live in the same jurisdiction. It is followed by all states and helps to create some consistency for processes that parents and courts can follow when dealing with interstate child custody matters.

One thing that the UCCJEA does is require courts and law enforcement, regardless of the state they are located in, to abide by child custody orders issued by another court. For example, if there are child custody orders in Arizona, they apply to a parent living in New Mexico. This is true of the initial order and any modifications.

If you are involved in a child custody case that spans multiple states, ask your family law attorney how the UCCJEA applies and how it can help in your case.

Know When and How to Move Jurisdiction

However, jurisdiction over a child custody case does not have to remain in the initial state where orders were issued. There are times when it is appropriate to move jurisdiction to another state, and it often depends on where a child lives and how long they have resided there.

For example, say both parents lived in California. They divorced there, and initial custody orders were created there. The non-custodial parent eventually moved to New Mexico. The custodial parent subsequently moved to Arizona with the child, and they have lived in Arizona for some time. The parent might work with a family law attorney to move the jurisdiction of the child custody case to Arizona.

Work With Experienced Family Law Attorneys

Experienced family law attorneys can help you support the best interests of your child and work toward viable child custody agreements in all types of situations. That includes when you are dealing with custody issues across state lines.

A family law attorney can help with custody matters during a divorce, but they can also support you after a divorce if you need to enforce the provisions of your custody arrangement or seek a modification of custody orders for any reason. If you are facing a custody issue in Arizona, whether both parents live in the state or not, we can help. Contact the Arizona Family Law Attorneys by calling 480-448-0608.