What happens when your kids live in another state?

You’ve likely spent the last several years living near your kids. You picked them up after school a few days a week, attended their soccer games and piano recitals, and saw them on holidays and on their birthdays. You stayed up to date on their lives by attending parent-teacher conferences and doctor’s appointments.

Can a state court order an out of State parent to pay child support?

There are rules that guide which court in which state may consider child support cases. Usually, a state court may enter an order requiring payment of money from a parent who lives in another state only if that out-of-state parent has a specific connection to the other state.

Can a court have personal jurisdiction over both parents?

Personal jurisdiction over both parents required: To hear a new child support case, a court must have personal jurisdiction over both parents. (See How does a state court get personal jurisdiction over a parent? for ways a state court can declare personal jurisdiction over a parent in another state.)

How to co-parent when your ex lives in another state?

Now that you’ve gone through the legal process of modifying your custody order to accommodate a parent’s relocation, you face the daunting task of long-distance co-parenting. It’s hard enough to co-parent when your ex lives down the road or in the next town over. So how do you co-parent when your ex lives hours or states away from you?

What happens when the child lives in a different state?

Full faith and credit means that the Courts in every state will recognize that child custody order. If the child lives in a different state than one of the parents, the UCCJEA determines which state has jurisdiction or the right to hear the child custody case.

What happens if one parent lives in Mississippi and one lives in Texas?

Once the child’s home state issues a custody order, that state keeps jurisdiction over the case. For example, if a child lives in Texas with one parent and the other parent lives in Mississippi, only the Texas court can make changes to the custody order.

Can a parent live in different states and share custody?

Distance won’t necessarily define your parenting relationship. In other words, parents that live in neighboring states can sometimes share legal custody of a child. However, it’s very rare for parents in separate states to have joint physical custody. A joint physical custody award could be appropriate for young children who aren’t in school yet.

What happens when a mother moves to another state?

If the mother moves to another state with the intention of filing a custody order in that state, the father can have any custody orders in the new state dismissed because the new state does not have legal jurisdiction of the custody case.