Legal Question in Family Law in California
Would another state, for example Texas and/or Colorado, be bound by the child custody and visitation orders of California? What legal protection is available if visitation is ordered that involves sending a 13 yr old to visit her non-custodial mother in one of those states? What happens if she refused to send her home?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, all states enforce child custody judgments and orders of other states. There is a nationwide law called the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act that, among other things, has provisions for enforcing one state's rulings in another state. The only problem is the trouble and expense you have to go to, since you have to submit your orders to the local courts in the other state, have them turned into orders of that court and then get the authorities to enforce them.