Family & Safety

It is important to file a parental responsibilities Making important decisions for a child (significant decision-making responsibility) and spending time with them (parenting time) or child custody case in the state that has jurisdiction. The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Also a region where a court has authority. In some cases, it is very simple to decide which state has jurisdiction. For example, if the child was born in one state and has lived there their entire life, that state will have jurisdiction.

However, if the child has lived in more than one state, it can be harder to figure out which state has jurisdiction. Cases where it can be hard to decide jurisdiction or where the issue of jurisdiction can be important involve situations where:

• The child has lived in more than one state,
• One of the child’s parents lives in a different state, or
• One parent is thinking about moving to another state with the child.    

Child custody jurisdiction applies to almost any case involving the custody or care of a child, including divorce, separation, establishment of parental responsibilities (which includes decision making and parenting time), Time that a child spends with a parent. Usually, the child lives mostly with one parent and has regular contact with the other (formerly called visitation). paternity, termination When something ends of parental rights, guardianship, When a person is appointed by a judge to take care of a child or an adult with a disability neglect, When a person acts with less care or caution than a regular person would have in the same situation abuse, and dependency cases, and domestic violence Harm by one household or family member against another household or family member. Harm may be an emotional, mental, or physical injury cases.

Jurisdiction The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Also a region where a court has authority. is the power of a court to decide a case or make decisions that require or allow someone to do something, like allowing the other parent visitation Time spent between a child and a person who is not the parent with their child. If a court does not have jurisdiction, the judge cannot make a decision or order. Time and money can be wasted if a case is filed in the wrong jurisdiction.

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Also a region where a court has authority. and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is a law that provides rules on determining which state has jurisdiction when more than one state is involved in a particular child custody case. The UCCJEA has been adopted by all US states, except Massachusetts. It is similar in most states but not always identical.

The UCCJEA applies to almost any case involving “custody” of a child. In Illinois, this can be confusing because Illinois stopped using the term “custody” in most laws and uses the term “parental responsibilities” Making important decisions for a child (significant decision-making responsibility) and spending time with them (parenting time) instead. The UCCJEA applies to almost any case about a child, where the child will live, and who will make decisions for the child, including divorce; separation; paternity; establishment of parental responsibilities (which includes decision making and parenting time); Time that a child spends with a parent. Usually, the child lives mostly with one parent and has regular contact with the other (formerly called visitation). termination When something ends of parental rights; guardianship; When a person is appointed by a judge to take care of a child or an adult with a disability neglect, When a person acts with less care or caution than a regular person would have in the same situation abuse, and dependency cases; and domestic violence Harm by one household or family member against another household or family member. Harm may be an emotional, mental, or physical injury cases.

The UCCJEA does not apply to:

• Adoption When an adult becomes a child's legal parent cases,
• Child support Money paid by a parent to help another parent support a minor child or an adult child with a disability cases,
• A case to authorize emergency medical care for a child,
• A case about a parent's or another person’s financial obligation other than child support,
• Certain cases for Native American children that are governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act, or
• Juvenile delinquency Amount of back support accumulating after order is entered. cases

Most importantly, the UCCJEA sets out where a new court case must be filed. Once the case is started in the correct state, under the UCCJEA, the case almost always stays in that state. In almost all situations, the UCCJEA says that only the courts in that state can make changes to any decisions in the case.

The “Home State Rule” says the parental responsibilities Making important decisions for a child (significant decision-making responsibility) and spending time with them (parenting time) (custody) case usually must be started in the state where the child has lived for the past six months (“home state”). If the child had a home state within the past six months and one parent still lives there, that state is the home state until the child has been gone for six months.

Examples include:

• The child always lived in Illinois: Illinois is the home state.
• The child recently moved from Missouri to Illinois: Missouri is the home state if the move was less than six months ago, and one parent still lives in Missouri.
• The child moved to Illinois from Missouri more than six months ago: Illinois becomes the home state if no case was filed in Missouri.

Once the case is filed in the home state, the case usually stays there even if the child has moved to another state, and even if the child has been gone for more than six months, unless the case is legally transferred to another state.

If the child is younger than six months old, the home state is where the child has lived since birth. If the child has lived in more than one state, there is no home state. See the “significant connection” rule below.

If the child has not lived in any state for at least six months, the case belongs in a state where the child and at least one parent have a “significant connection.” Significant connection means there is evidence Anything used to show that something is true about the child’s care, protection, training, and relationships in the state. In other words, it is the state where there is the most information about the child.

Some examples of “significant connections” include:

• Parents’ employment opportunities,
• Extended family located in the state,
• Education opportunities/enrollment of the child, or
• Where the child’s primary medical providers are located.

A parent generally must wait until the child has been in Illinois for six months before starting a court case for parental responsibilities Making important decisions for a child (significant decision-making responsibility) and spending time with them (parenting time) (custody).

When filing a court case to determine the home state, a parent must give the following information to the court:

• Where the child is living now;
• The names of all adults the child lives with;
• Everywhere the child has lived for the past five years, and the names of all adults the child lived with at each address;
• Whether there is already a custody case in any court about the child;
• Whether the parent has testified in any court case about the child; and
• Whether anyone else who isn’t already a part of the case might claim rights to the child.

The county court where the parent files may have a form to use to give this information. This form might be called a “UCCJEA Affidavit.” A notarized written statement signed by a person under oath If there is concern about privacy, the parent can check with the court about sealing When a criminal record is hidden from most of the general public, but not law enforcement sensitive information.

If both parents and the child move to Illinois, a case can be filed in Illinois even if they haven’t been there for six months.

If there is an emergency and the parent or the child is in danger, the parent survivor may be able to get a temporary custody order in Illinois, even if another state is the home state.

If there’s already a custody order in another state, the Illinois order is temporary until the parent survivor can go to court in the other state and ask for changes to that state’s order.

If there is no custody case in another state, the temporary order gives the other parent time to file a case in the home state. If the Illinois judge orders it, the Illinois order can become permanent if the other parent does nothing (does not file a case in the other state) and after the child is in Illinois for six months.

This is often a difficult situation, with no perfect option for the parent who wants to move. If the parent and child currently live in Illinois but want to move to a different state, the court may need to be involved if there is already a court order for parenting time Time that a child spends with a parent. Usually, the child lives mostly with one parent and has regular contact with the other (formerly called visitation). in place. If there is, Illinois law requires that a parent notify the other parent of the move (called “relocation”) and ask the court for permission to move, unless the other parent agrees in writing. If a parent moves without permission, the judge could order the parent to bring the child back to Illinois.

If the child has lived in Illinois for at least six months, Illinois remains the home state for six months after the move.

If there is no court order and a parent decides to move even though Illinois is the home state, the parent who moves is taking a risk because the other parent may file a case in Illinois. The parent who wants to move might make an agreement with the other parent that gives the other parent visits or parenting time. The other parent still would have the right to file a custody case in Illinois during the six months after the child left Illinois, but the agreement might make that less likely.

A parent can consider filing for parental responsibility before moving and asking the court for permission to move with the child. However, this is also taking a risk because the judge might not give permission to move with the child. The judge’s job is to protect the child’s relationship with both parents as much as possible.

If the child lives in Illinois with a parent or a person acting as a parent, Illinois is the home state if the child has lived here for six months or more, even if the other parent has never been to or lived in Illinois.  A parent can file for custody in Illinois, but the out-of-state parent must be notified of the court case and allowed to participate.

If the out-of-state parent has never been in Illinois, it might be difficult to get child support from an Illinois court. The parent in Illinois might need help from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office child support services.

Whether or not a judge can force the return of a parent and child who moved to Illinois a year ago depends on whether there was already a court case in the other state. If there is no case in the other state, or if the out-of-state parent waits more than six months after the Illinois-based parent moves to file a court case, Illinois becomes the home state. Once Illinois is the home state (the child has been in Illinois for six months), any new case must be filed in Illinois. The Illinois-based parent will need to file something in the case in the other state to have the other case dismissed Cases dismissed with no further action anticipated. or the case transferred to Illinois.

If there already is a court order from the other state, or the out-of-state parent filed a case while the other parent was still in the home state, then the out-of-state parent may have the right to ask the judge in the other state to order the Illinois-based parent to bring the child back to that state. 

Generally, changes to an order must be made in the original state’s court case. Once a case starts in a state, it usually must stay in that state’s court. Exceptions to this include:

• There is an emergency, such as fleeing domestic violence. Harm by one household or family member against another household or family member. Harm may be an emotional, mental, or physical injury (Any emergency change is only temporary until the other state’s court can make a decision)
• Both parents and the child have left the original state.
• The original state’s court decides that Illinois is a better place for the custody case.

It is possible to register an out-of-state custody order in Illinois. This is a first step towards enforcing the order, as many Illinois police and sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. departments will not enforce Taking legal steps to make someone do what the court tells them to do an out-of-state order unless it is enrolled in Illinois. For example, if one parent has run away to Illinois with the child, the parent who has custody according to the order of another state may need the police or sheriff to help them pick up their child. The police or sheriff may not help when a parent shows them the out-of-state order, unless the order is registered in Illinois. Even if the order is properly registered, the police or sheriff might refuse to help enforce the out-of-state order without an order from the Illinois court. Once an out-of-state order is registered in Illinois, an Illinois court can enforce it just as if it were an Illinois court order.

A parent can register an out-of-state custody order in Illinois with the circuit (county) court, without a court order. The way to do this is by sending the clerk of the court:

• A letter asking the clerk to register the out-of-state order;
• Two copies of the out-of-state custody order; at least one of the two copies must be certified by the court in the other state;
• A statement under penalty of perjury When someone promises to tell the truth in a court case, and then tells a lie that, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person seeking registration, the order has not been modified and is the current order of the out-of-state court;
• The name and address of the person asking the clerk to register the out-of-state order; and
• The name and address of any parent or person acting as a parent who has been awarded custody or visitation Time spent between a child and a person who is not the parent (parenting time Time that a child spends with a parent. Usually, the child lives mostly with one parent and has regular contact with the other (formerly called visitation). or decision-making authority) in the child-custody determination to be registered.

When the clerk of the circuit court The lowest level of court in Illinois gets the request, the clerk will send a notice to the other parent or person acting as a parent. The other parent or person acting as parent will have 20 days to ask for a hearing When the parties in a case present their sides of a case to a judge or other officer with a judge. At this hearing, the only bases for objecting to or denying the registration are:

• The court that made the out-of-state decision did not have UCCJEA jurisdiction, The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Also a region where a court has authority.
• The order the parent is trying to register is not the genuine current order of the other court, or
• The person who is objecting to the registration did not get proper notice before the court of the other state made its order.

If the other parent or person acting as a parent does not ask for a hearing within the 20 days, the clerk of the circuit court must notify both parents or the person acting as a parent that the order has been registered. 

Illinois courts have the power to enforce Taking legal steps to make someone do what the court tells them to do child custody orders from other states if the orders have been registered in Illinois. 

For example, if one parent takes the child to Illinois without permission and the parent in the other state has court-ordered custody, the parent in the other state may need the help of an Illinois court to make an order requiring the parent who took the child to return the child.

Sometimes the parent with custody moves to Illinois and refuses to let the other parent see the child. The parent who does not have custody but does have visitation Time spent between a child and a person who is not the parent (parenting time) Time that a child spends with a parent. Usually, the child lives mostly with one parent and has regular contact with the other (formerly called visitation). rights may need the help of a court in Illinois to be able to see the child.

It is important to note that there is a difference between a) enforcing the order of another state and b) changing or modifying that order. Registering a child custody order from another state is the first step to an Illinois court enforcing the order, but registering the order does not give the Illinois court the power to change the order. Unless none of the parents, persons acting as parents, and the child still live in the other state, or the court of the other state expressly gives up jurisdiction, The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Also a region where a court has authority. Illinois does not have the power to change the other state’s order.

If one parent has taken the child from Illinois and filed for custody in a different state, the parent who is still in Illinois may need a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice in each state, in Illinois and in the other state. The Illinois lawyer might file a case in Illinois if Illinois has custody jurisdiction, The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Also a region where a court has authority. and ask the judges in both states to talk to each other to decide where the case belongs. The court in the other state might decide not to keep the case if the move was made to keep the Illinois-based parent from being a part of the case or to hide the child from them.

Learn more about the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

Interstate child custody issues can be complicated, so it can be smart to talk to a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice and, if possible, have one in court.  You may want to get a lawyer to help you, particularly if the other parent is not cooperating with you.

You can use Get Legal Help to find a free legal aid organization or private lawyer near you.