Major Change in Child Custody Law in Interstate Cases

Effective September 1, 1999, Texas NO LONGER automatically gives custody jurisdiction to ANOTHER STATE when the child has been RESIDING in THAT STATE for MORE THAN SIX MONTHS.

This is a MAJOR CHANGE; the previous law (the Texas version of the UCCJA) FORCED Texas to GIVE UP custody jurisdiction after the CHILD had been OUT OF TEXAS for 6 MONTHS.

Texas has replaced the UCCJA with the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) that DELETES the 6 month language in the previous law. The new law is §152.001et seq. of the Texas Family Code. It means that Texas can retain jurisdiction so long as one parent remains in Texas, although Texas can certainly release its jurisdiction to another state.

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Raggio & Raggio, PLLC is based in Dallas, Texas. We represent clients throughout North Texas, in the cities of Dallas, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Richardson, Irving, Highland Park, University Park, Park Cities, Garland, Mesquite, Rockwall, Fort Worth and Denton, as well as Dallas County, Denton County, Tarrant County and Rockwall County.