this is a quick question that I hope someone can help me with...I haven't found any case law that says one way or another...is a jurisdictional determination a final appealable order if the merits of the cases has not been decided? :confused:

The reason I ask is I'm involved in a case where neither parent or child is a resident of the state that has determined it has jurisdiction to determine the issue of custody of the child. :eek: I just wonder why these parents would be forced to litigate the issue of child custody in a state where NO ONE lives.

Cases decided utilizing the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA) and Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) state that a state in which neither parent or child reside cannot exercise jurisdiction over child custody even if the original custody order was made in that state.

If any one has any legal answer (regardless of the state) to the above question it would be greatly appreciated.

If the case was still in limbo or if neither party has lived in the new states for 6 months and established residency, then it is possilble that that state does have jurisdiction. IF you wish to modify a custody order, then it would have to be done in the new state that the child has lived in for 6 months and jurisdiction would have to be switched from the old state.

right! these parents and children havent lived in this particular state for years the mother and children 3 years and the father 9, as far as I know there was never a custody order in that state...it seems that the father went to the last state the family lived into together and asked for custody. The strange thing was that jurisdiction was contested yet the state court determined it had jurisdiction (both persona and subject matter) :confused:

after the mother filed an appeal of the decision, the issue of the appealability came up. It appears the order was not final, and the mother should have a writ. Its too late for that. Can an order retaining jurisdiction be appealed like a dismissal for want of jurisdiction
can?

It might depend on the state law. I don't think that the federal law has anything to do with the court procedures on appeals and jurisdiction.

true..I wasn't thinking about that.

true..I wasn't thinking about that.
I know this is an obvious question, but did the mother file suit in HER state court? Her state's court would have to request that the presiding court release jurisdiction before jurisidiction could be moved. Like I said, I know it's an obvious question, but you would be surprised at how many misunderstand how jurisdictional procedures work. If she has NOT, she needs to file in her state's court for change of jurisdiction.

as far as I know, no she hasn't filed in her own state. I'm pretty surw there has never been a court custody order. Im pretty profficiant on jurisdictional issues concerning UCCJEA and PKPA...and there is very little variations between the states laws (hers = state A, his state =B and the one where no one lives = state C) there is not any jurisdiction in state C, a custody order has never been made there for sure...they all lived there as a family roughly 10 years ago. according to the UCCJEA there is no way state C can exercise jurisdiction over any of these people... unless the kids are present in the state and theres an emergency situation http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/fnact99/1990s/uccjea97.htm

I just dont understand how the mom can be forced to hire an attorney and fight about custody in a state where no party lives. Having been involved in a custody case myself, I know that they can last for what seems like forever, and cost a small fortune in attorneys. You would think that there would be a way to appeal a jurisdictional determination immediatly so as to not be made to defend a frivilous action for months and months. I've searched through all sorts of court opinions in a bunch of states and havent found anything that allows an appeal for something like this. I wish I would have met this lady earlier, I would have told her to file a petition for writ of mandamus.