Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Moved from Ca to Wa w/o court authorization-need help

Unfortunately for your wishes, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA), which has been adopted by all states, clearly states that jurisdiction of a custody matter belongs in the home state of the child, which is where the child has resided for at least 6 months. California, not Washington, is thus the home state and has jurisdiction.

You may read the WA UCCJA, chapter 26.27 RCW, at http://search.leg.wa.gov/wslrcw/RCW%20%2026%20%20TITLE/RCW%20%2026%20.%2027%20%20CHAPTER/RCW%20%2026%20.%2027%20%20chapter.htm. Other resources are available at http://www.hiltonhouse.com/. Also available at that site is the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA).

There is emergency jurisdiction available in WA, but that is only temporary until the state with the correct jurisdiction takes over after the judges may talk to each other.

You may be able to find a judge in WA that takes your concerns more seriously than the CA court has, but you will most likely be stuck with CA jurisdiction. If to try to fight it in WA, chances are you will only antagonize the judge in CA and confirm her first impressions of you.

As to "ensuring" your child's safety, that is humanly impossible. I would suggest you get an aggressive domestic attorney in CA.

Re: Moved from Ca to Wa w/o court authorization-need help

Dear Inquirer:

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is executed by the attorney and client. This

communication contains general information only.

Nothing herein shall constitute an attorney-client

communication nor legal advice. There likely are

deadlines and time-limits associated with your

case; you should contact an attorney of your

choice for legal advice specific to your personal

situation, at once.

If you haven't already done so, please visit my

web site at --

http://home.pacbell.net/edbjr/ OR

http://www.CaliforniaDivorceAttorney.com

The site contains quite a bit of general

information about California Family Law, Tenants'

Rights, and Juvenile Dependencies, and EDD

hearings and appeals, as well as information

about me (education, experience, et cetera)

and my office (location, hours, fees, policies).

NOW, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR INQUIRY --

The facts that you have provided are not clear

enough and/or complete enough to provide a

definitive answer to you inquiry; however, I would

say that California has jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdication and Enforcement Act (unless some other state has already made child custody orders) because California is the last place that the child lived for six month or more. The judge's order may be disconcerting to you, but it probably is not an abuse of her discretion. Hope for the best this weekend. That notwithstanding, you need a clever and aggressive family law attorney in California to represent you.

Thanks for sharing your interesting inquiry with

us on LawGuru, and good luck with your case.