uccjea jurisdiction
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NO
Does thePetition seek
only to ENFORCEan out-of state custody
or placement order?
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Chart.
Has there ever been
an order* or custody determination concerning
this child in anycourt of any
state?
NO
YES
YES
*Order can have been ina criminal or civil case, including pater-
nity, divorce, separation, child neglect, abuse,dependency, guardianship. termination of
parental rights, domestic violence, etc..
UCCJEA Jurisdiction Starting Page
For Wisconsin Cases
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Note 1
Go ToINITIAL ORDERS
Chart
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WasWisconsin
the child’s homestate when the
action wasfiled??
INITIAL ORDERS
Is the child
absent fromWisconsin?
WasWisconsin the
child’s home statewithin six months
before thecase was
filed?
Does oneparent or “person
acting as a parent”still live inWisconsin?
Doesany other statehave jurisdictionunder the above
rules?
Do the child
and at least oneparent (or person acting as a parent)
have a significant connectionwith Wisconsin, otherthan mere physical
presence?
Is substantial
evidence about thechild’s care, protection,
training & personal rela-tionships available
in Wisconsin?Has child’s
home state declined jurisd. on ground of incon-
venient forum or that a party en-gaged in unjustifiable conduct AND
that court decided that Wisc.is a more appropriate
forum??
..
Go toDecline Jurisdiction
Chart
Wisconsin has jurisdiction
to hear & decidethe action.
[§822.21(1)(a) or (b)]
Track
182
2.21(1
)(a)
Track
2822
.21(1)
(a)
Track
3
822.21
(1)(b)
Track
3 (a
)
Have ALL courts having juris-
diction under Tracks 1, 2 &3 declined jurisdiction on grounds
of inconvenient forum or unjustifiableconduct AND have those courts
all decided that Wisconsinis a more appropri-
ate forum?
Wisconsin has jurisdiction
to hear & decidethe action.
[§822.21(1) (c) or (d)]
Does acourt of any
other state havejurisdiction under any
of the abovetracks?
Wisconsin has no juris-diction on any basis.
NO
NO
NO
NO
NONONO
NO
NO
NO NO
YES
YES YES YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
YES
Track
482
2.21
(c)
Track
5
822.21
(d)
Is thechild present in Wiscon-
sin?
Is thechild abandoned
OR is it necessary in an emergency to protect the child be-
cause s/he (or a parent or a sibling) has been threatened with or subjected
to mistreatment or abuse?
NO
Temp. Emerg
.
§822.2
4
YES
NO
YES
Go to TemporaryEmergency Jurisdiction in
“The UCCJEA: A FocusedIntroduction”
©DAVID A. BLUMBERGwww.uccjea.net
This chart was originally prepared for use in the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook,,Vol III.
Start Here
Go ToINITIAL ORDERS
Chart.
Does thechild OR at least
one of the parents* stillreside in the state that
made the most re-cent order?
Wasthe most re-
cent order issuedin Wiscon-
sin?
Doesthe child and
at least one parent* still have “a significant
connection” † with Wisconsin?
Has a court in the state
that made the most re-cent order determined that
it lacks continuing juris-diction under its
own law?
Go toDECLINE
JURISDICTION Chart.
NONO
NO
YES
YES
NO
YES
YES
MODIFICATION
Wisc. lacks jurisdictionto modify the order (unless
a court in the state where the child nowlives cedes jurisdiction to Wisconsin)..
[ 822.22 (1) (a) [ 822.22 (1) (a) ]]
Wisc. lacks jurisdiction tomodify the order (unless a court
in the state that made the most recentorder cedes jurisdiction to Wisconsin).
[ 822.23 (1) ]
The originalstate has lost its
exclusive, continuingjurisdiction to modifyits order. [822.22 (1)(b)
or 822.23 (2)]
Wisconsinstill has exclusive, continuing jurisdic-tion to modify the
order. [822.22]
©DAVID A. BLUMBERGwww.uccjea.net
An earlier version of this chart was prepared for the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook,,Vol III.
Go ToINITIAL ORDERS
Chart.
* “Parent” refers not only to an
actual parent, but alsoto “a person acting
as a parent.”
Note 2
Is sub-stantial evidence
concerning the child’scare, protection, training and
personal relationshipsstill available in
Wisconsin?
Note 2
YES
NO
† In statesthat have decided the
issue, courts generally find “a significant connection” stillexists if, e.g., the child has re- turned to that state for visits
as infrequently as once ortwice a year.
Note 3
Decline JurisdictionStart Here
Has anInconvenient
Forum motion beenbrought OR does it appearthat another state may be a
more appropriate forumto determine this
proceeding?
Consider all 8 fac-tors in §822.27(2) :
a. Domestic violenceb. Time child has lived out of state
c. Distance between possible courts d. Relative financial abilities
e. Agreement re preferred courtf. Nature & location of evidenceg. Ct. congestion & proceduresh. Ct.’s familiarity with facts
Then. . .
DECIDE:Is the other state
a more appropriateforum to determine
this proceeding?[§822.27]
This court may hearand determine this
custody proceeding
STAY theWisconsin action on
condition that a proceed-ing be filed promptly in
the other designatedstate, and imposeany other appro-priate conditions.
NO
YES
NO
YES
Does Wisconsin
have jurisdictionbecause petitioner
engaged in“unjustifiableconduct?”*
NO Wouldany other state
have either initial ormodification jurisdic-
tion to hearthis case?
YES
NO
Has acourt in such a
state determined thatWisconsin is a moreappropriate forum
(per §822.27)?
YES
YES
Have both parents
AND all “personsacting as parents” acqui-
esced in Wisconsin’s exerciseof jurisdiction, despite
the unjustifiableconduct?
NO
YES
This court must decline to exercise jurisdiction.
[ §822.28(1) ]
NO Awardcosts, fees and
expenses againstpetitioner, as per
§822.28(3).AND...
Fashiona remedy, per
§822.28(2) to ensurethe child’s safety and
to prevent repeti-tion of the unjusti-
fiable conduct...
And Must
AndMay
* “Unjustifiable Conduct” mustbe more than some technical illegality
or wrong. E.g., it could include abduction &hiding for six months, but fleeing with a child
to escape domestic abuse should not qualify, even if doing so violated
a placement order.
§ 822
.28 (1
)
Note 4
©DAVID A. BLUMBERGwww.uccjea.net
This chart was originally prepared for use in the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook,,Vol III.
The courtmay (but is not
required to) communi-cate with the other courtif doing so would help to
clarify any considera-tion for the motion.
[See §822.10]
§ 822.2
8 (1)(a)
ENFORCEMENTunder the UCCJEA
Choose the typeof proceeding
Proceeding to ENFORCE An Out-of-State
Custody Determination(Wis. Stats.§ §822.38 – 822.41)
Proceeding To Opposethe REGISTRATION of
An Out-of-State Custody Determination
(Wis. Stat. §822.35)
Did theRespondent
prove that the issuingcourt lacked jurisdiction
under Wis. Stats.822.21–.24?
Did theRespondent
prove that he/shewas entitled to notice, but
that notice was not given per§822.08 standards, in
the case beforethe issuing
court?
Did theRespondent
prove that the order has been vacated, stayed,or modified by a court with
jurisdiction under Wis.Stats. §§ 822.21–
822.24?
NO
Does the Petitioner also
seek either to modifyor to enforce the
out-of-stateorder?
ISSUEan order
sustaining theobjections andvacating theregistration.
YESYES
YES
NO NO
YES
ISSUE an order
denying the objections andconfirming theregistration.
Then...
WasRespondent’s
objection filed within20 days after the clerk sent notice?
[822.35(5)]
ISSUEan order
denying the objections andconfirming theregistration.
Then...
NO
YES
Does the Petitioner also
seek either to modifyor to enforce the
out-of-stateorder?
NONO
Chooseeither...
YES
Seeks to enforce
the order
Seeks tomodify
the order
See Sec. III, I, 2 of“The UCCJEA: A
Focused Introduction”
Go ToMODIFICATION
Chart
©DAVID A. BLUMBERG (877) 9-UCCJEA
A similar version of this chart was originally prepared for use in the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook, Vol. III
STOPNothing more
is required