Legal Question in Family Law in Maine

Re: jurisdiction

Your husband may be able to litigate the issue in Alaska. This does not necessarily mean that he will prevail, but you may be required to either hire an Alaska attorney or to appear there yourself to contest his motion.

It really depends on how long you have been in Maine. Without knowing what it is your husband has filed, it is difficult to provide a responsive answer. However, I am guessing that he has filed some manner of action under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act. This is a law which I believe has been adopted in all fifty states. In essence, it is meant to prohibit a parent from doing what you have done: moving the children to another state and filing for divorce or other custodial orders in that other state. I realize that you were fleeing abuse, but the "proper" procedure would have been to file for a divorce in Alaska and then return to Maine.

However, the UCCJEA is controlled by the analysis of where the children's "home state" is. This is a legal term and depends on the specific facts of the case. Generally speaking, the "home state" is the state in which the children resided for the past 6 months prior to the legal action.

Even if you do not meet that qualification, all is not lost. You should probably consider filing for divorce if you have not already. Unless you've resided in Maine for 6 months, you'll probably have to file in Alaska, and you can have the case litigated there. It certainly sounds like you have a strong case for primary residence. The primary issue I see is whether or not the father is entitled to visitation and, if so, will visitation be meaningful if the children reside in Maine? Bear in mind that if you are awarded primary residence, he will have to pay you child support, which might give you some leverage to work out some kind of deal. Knowing absolutely nothing about your cicrumstances, perhaps some arrangement can be reached.

If you cannot afford an attorney, you should contact the Volunteer Lawyers Project (http://www.vlp.org/). Alaska has similar programs: The Alaska Network on Domestic Violence can probably point you in the right direction (http://www.andvsa.org/), as can Alaska Legal Services ( http://www.alsc-law.org/alscoffices.html).

I hope this information helps. If you think that you might meet the standards of Maine jurisdiction, please do not hesitate to contact me.