Interstate & International Child Custody

Houston Spanish-Speaking Interstate/International Child Custody Lawyer

Interstate Child Custody

A separation or divorce can often trigger a reorganization of the lives of parents and prompt one or both of them to change the state of their residence. In a given case, one parent also may change the state of his residence to frustrate the custody and visitation rights of the other parent. If a couple has children and one or both of the parents moves to another state, issues may arise as to which state’s courts should make initial, ongoing, or emergency determinations relating to child custody and visitation. To address these issues, Texas, like most other states, has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), a uniform state law that sets out rules to govern which court should exercise jurisdiction in a child custody case when the facts of the case touch on more than one state.

The UCCJEA is based on two main concepts. The first is that the initial court that enters a child custody order relating to a child should keep the power to make subsequent orders unless the circumstances of the parties change so substantially that it makes better sense for another court to take over. The second is that valid child custody orders entered in one state should be enforceable in the courts of all other states.

If your spouse has brought your child to Texas in violation of a child custody order entered in another state, you can seek enforcement of the out of state order in a Texas court under the UCCJEA. If your spouse has taken your child to another state in violation of a child custody order entered in Texas, the Texas court generally retains jurisdiction over your child and your case, but it may be necessary for you to seek enforcement of the order in the courts of the other state.

International Child Custody

In a world of globalization, parents and their children are increasingly moving between countries. Just as in the case of the interstate movement of people within the United States, jurisdictional issues arise in a child custody case when the facts of the case touch on more than one country. However, unlike the case of an interstate movement of a parent or child within the United States, in an international child custody case, there may or may not be an international law or treaty (i.e., a uniform law) that governs which court of which country can or should exercise jurisdiction over the child when making a child custody determination. Rather, internationally, there is a complex web of international multilateral and bilateral treaties between countries relating to child custody and visitation determinations and their enforcement.

The most prominent international treaty relating to international child custody is the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (“Hague Convention”). The Hague Convention provides a legal mechanism to a parent that seeks the return of or access to a child that has been wrongfully taken abroad in violation of a parent’s custodial rights. The Hague Convention can also be used to help a parent exercise his visitation rights abroad.

If your spouse has brought your child to Texas in violation of a child custody order entered in a foreign country, you may be able to enforce the foreign child custody order in a Texas Court if the foreign child custody order meets the requirements of the UCCJEA. If your spouse has taken your child to a foreign country in violation of a Texas child custody order, it may be necessary for you to seek enforcement of the Texas custody order in the foreign country. The US Department of State provides assistance to parents who have been the victims of international child abduction.

In Texas, pursuant to the provisions of the UCCJEA, a child custody determination made by a court in a foreign country is treated as if it were made by a sister state of the United States (and is therefore subject to enforcement by the Texas Court) if, under the facts of the case, the foreign court would have had jurisdiction to make the child custody determination under the jurisdictional standards of the UCCJEA and the child custody law of the foreign country does not violate fundamental principles of human rights. Further, under the UCCJEA, a Texas Court may enforce an order for the return of a child under the Hague Convention as if it were a child custody determination made by a sister state of the United States. In this way, the remedies available in Texas Courts for the enforcement of an interstate child custody order are also made available for the enforcement of a qualifying international child custody order.

Mr. Hart accepts cases involving international child custody issues, both to represent the parent in proceedings in Texas in relation to such cases and to provide support and assistance to a parent in his or her efforts to obtain the return of the child from a foreign country through the US Department of State, through foreign proceedings involving a foreign attorney, or through other networks of available resources that provide assistance to parents in international child abduction cases, such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children ("NCMEC") and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

For a free consultation with a Houston Spanish-speaking interstate/international child custody attorney: Contact Terry Hart to discuss your legal issue. Se habla español.