Legal Question in Family Law in Maine
Urgent, what do I do now?
1. I was never married to the mother of my child. In Feb she called me to take my daughter since then
2. My Child has resided in Mass with me since Feb 2007
2. I filed temporary emergency orders in Mass in May 2007.
3. Order review, continued in September 2007.
4. The Mother filed in Maine in September 07.
5. Case in Mass reviewed in November and continued until Jan 2008.
6. After that, Maine held hearing in which they took jurisdiction, well beyond their 6 month rule, In violation of both the UCCJA and PKKA
They completely disregarded the Mass orders that were in place to protect the my child.
It seems very clear that they violated state and federal law because:
a. The child and custodial parent have lived in Mass for over 10 months. Well beyond the 6 month time frame and,
b. The child had resided in Mass for more then 6 months prior to the mother filing in Maine.
My questions:
How can Maine do this?
What can I do to get this overturned?
How can I get them to see they violated the law and have put my daugter in danger?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Urgent, what do I do now?
I disagree with the other answers. Under the PKPA and certain state versions of the UCCJA a state may have continuing jurisdiction if an order of custody is validly entered in a state and one parent continues to reside in that state. You need to consult a Maine attorney to understand Maine law on this issue.
Re: Urgent, what do I do now?
You need to file a Motion to dismiss the action in ME. You need to retain ME Counsel immediately and if you do not have MA counsel get one ASAP so he can try to get MA to issue an Emergency Order to grant you temprorary custody. At that point the issue is one of who has jurisdiction.
Good Luck.
Re: Urgent, what do I do now?
Mr. Roth and I are in full agreement: two lawyers, two states, one concerted fight for Massachusetts to retain jurisdiction. Bear in mind that Massachusetts did NOT have absolute, inarguable jurisdiction for long-term purposes when you initially filed, because the child had not been here for six months. The Maine court may thus have an argument that Massachusetts usurped long-term jurisdiction, and that its retention of jurisdiction was proper -- and Massachusetts case law is in accord with this view, from my reading. Thus, your fight may be in Maine.
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