Appendix A 50-state Charts

• Library: Nolo's Essential Guide to Child Custody & Support (Nolo) (2021 Ed.)

APPENDIX A 50-State Charts

State Custody Best Interest Statutes

State Custody Modification Statutes

State Relocation Statutes

State Child Support Modification Statutes

State Custody Best Interest Statutes
State	Statute	Notes
Alabama	Ala. Code 1975 § 30-3-169.3
Alaska	Alaska Stat. § 25.24.150
Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 25-403
Arkansas	Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101
California	Cal. Fam. Code §§ 3011, 3040	Wide latitude
Colorado	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-10-124
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. §§ 46b-56
Delaware	Del. Code. Ann. Tit. 13, § 722
District of Columbia	D.C. Code Ann. § 16-914
Florida	Fla. Stat. Ann. § 61.13(3)
Georgia	Ga. Code Ann. § 19-9-3
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 571-46
Idaho	Idaho Code § 32-717
Illinois	750 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/602.7
Indiana	Ind. Code Ann. § 31-17-2-8
Iowa	Iowa Code § 598.41
Kansas	Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 23-3202, 23-3203
Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 403.270
Louisiana	La. Civ. Code Ann. Art. 134
Maine	Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. Tit. 19-A, § 1653(3)
Maryland	No statute	Best v. Best; 93 Md.App. 644, 613 A.2d 1043; Md.App., 1992.
Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 208, § 31	No specific factors listed; court has latitude
Michigan	Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.23
Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 518.17	Parenting classes required in custody cases
Mississippi	No statute	Hutchison v. Hutchison, 58 So.3d 46; Miss.App., 2011.
Missouri	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 452.375
Montana	Mont. Code Ann. § 40-4-234

State Custody Best Interest Statutes (continued)
State	Statute	Notes
Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923
Nevada	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 125C.0035
New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. § 461-A:6
New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 9:2-4
New Mexico	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 40-4-9.1
New York	N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 240, subsection 1
North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2 (a)
North Dakota	N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-06.2
Ohio	Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3109.04(F)(1)
Oklahoma	Okla. Stat. Ann. Tit. 43, § 112
Oregon	Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 107.137
Pennsylvania	23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5328
Rhode Island	No statute	Pettinato v. Pettinato, 582 A.2d 909, 1990.
South Carolina	S.C. Code § 63-15-240
South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 25-4-45	Hathaway v. Bergheim, 2002 S.D. 78, 648 N.W.2d 349, 2002.
Tennessee	Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-404
Texas	Tex. Family Code Ann. § 153.002	Vazquez v. Vazquez, 292 S.W.3d 80 Tex.App., 2007.
Utah	Utah Code Ann. § 30-3-34
Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 15, § 665
Virginia	Va. Code Ann. § 20-124.3
Washington	Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 26.09.184
West Virginia	W.Va. Code § 48-9-102
Wisconsin	Wis. Stat. § 767.41(5)
Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-201

State Custody Modification Statutes
State	Statute
Alabama	Ala. Code § 30-3-169.3 deployment: Ala. Code § 30-3-9
Alaska	Alaska Stat. § 25.20.110
Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 25-411
Arkansas	Ark. Code Ann. § 9-13-101 deployment: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 9-13-101, 9-13-110, 9-21-201 to 9-21-203
California	Cal. Fam. Code §§ 3087, 3088 deployment: Cal. Fam. Code § 3047
Colorado	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-10-129 deployment: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 14-13.7-201 to 14-13.7-203
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 46b-56 deployment: Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 46b-56e
Delaware	Del. Code Ann. Tit. 13, § 729 deployment: Del. Code Ann. tit. 13, § 727(d)
District of Columbia	D.C. Code Ann. § 16-914(f)(1) deployment: D.C. Code Ann. § 16-914.02
Florida	Fla. Stat. Ann. § 61.13(2)(d) and (3) deployment: Fla. Stat. Ann. §§ 61.703 to 61.773
Georgia	Ga. Code Ann. § 19-9-3(b)
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 571-46(a)(6) deployment: Haw. Rev. Stat. § 571-95
Idaho	Idaho Code § 32-717 deployment: Idaho Code § 32-720
Illinois	750 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/610.5
Indiana	Ind. Code Ann. § 31-17-2-21 deployment: Ind. Code Ann. § 31-17-2-21.1
Iowa	Iowa Code Ann. § 598.21C deployment: Iowa Code Ann. §§ 598C.201 to 598C.203
Kansas	Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 23-3218, 23-3221 deployment: Kan. Stat. Ann. § 23-3217
Kentucky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 403.340
Louisiana	La. Civ. Code Ann. Art. 131 deployment: La. Stat. Ann. §§ 9:359.1 to 9:359:5

State Custody Modification Statutes (continued)
State	Statute
Maine	Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 19-A, § 1657 deployment: Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, § 1653-A
Maryland	Md. Code Ann. Fam. Law § 1-201 (granting jurisdiction); Md. Code Ann. Fam. Law § 8-103 (allowing change if in best interests) deployment: Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law § 9-108
Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, § 28
Michigan	Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 722.27
Minnesota	Minn. Stat. Ann. §§ 518.175, 518.18 deployment: Minn. Stat. Ann. §§ 518e.201 to 518e.203
Mississippi	Miss. Code Ann. § 93-5-23 deployment: Miss. Code Ann. § 93-5-34
Missouri	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 452.410 deployment: Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 452.412, 452.413
Montana	Mont. Code Ann. § 40-4-219
Nebraska	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364 deployment: Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 43-4608 to 43-4610
Nevada	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 125C.0045 deployment: Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 125C.0649 to 125C.0653
New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 461-A:11 deployment: N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 454-E:1 to 454-E:4
New Jersey	N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:34-23 deployment: N.J. Stat. Ann. § 9:2-12.1
New Mexico	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 40-4-9.1
New York	N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 240; Commentary 240:23 deployment: N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 75-L
North Carolina	N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.7 deployment: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50A-360 to 50A-362
North Dakota	N.D. Cent. Code § 14-09-32 deployment: N.D. Cent. Code §§ 14-09.3-06 to 14-09.3-08
Ohio	Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3109.04(E)(1)(a)
Oklahoma	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 43, §§ 112, 112.5 deployment: Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 43, § 112.7
Oregon	Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 107.431 deployment: Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 107.145

State Custody Modification Statutes (continued)
State	Statute
Pennsylvania	23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5338 deployment: 51 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 4109
Rhode Island	R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-16
South Carolina	S.C. Code Ann. § 20-3-160 deployment: S.C. Code §§ 63-15-514 to 63-15-518
South Dakota	S.D. Codified Laws § 25-5-10.1 deployment: S.D. Codified Laws §§ 25-4b-201 to 25-4b-203
Tennessee	Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-405 deployment: Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 36-7-201 to 36-7-203
Texas	Tex. Family Code Ann. § 156.101 deployment: Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 156.105
Utah	Utah Code Ann. §§ 30-3-10.4, 30-3-10.8 deployment: Utah Code Ann. §§ 78B-20-201 to 78B-20-203
Vermont	Vt. Stat. Ann., tit. 15, § 668 deployment: Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, §§ 682, 683
Virginia	Va. Code Ann. § 20-124.2 deployment: Va. Code Ann. § 20-124.8
Washington	Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 26.09.260
West Virginia	W.Va. Code §§ 48-9-401, 48-9-402 deployment: W.Va. Code §§ 48-31-201 to 48-31-203
Wisconsin	Wis. Stat. Ann. § 767.451
Wyoming	Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-204 deployment: Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-2-205

State Relocation Statutes
State	Statute	Burden of Proof	Notes and cases
Alabama	Ala. Code §§ 30-3- 160 to 30-3-169.10	Shifting burden
Alaska	Alaska Stat. § 25.24.110	Shifting burden	Rego v. Rego, 259 P.3d 447 (Alaska, 2011)
Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 25-408	Burden on relocating parent
Ar...