Section 27.21 Jurisdiction Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act

• Library: Family Law Deskbook and 2014 Supp

C. (§27.21) Jurisdiction Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act

In creating the UCCJEA, one of the articulated purposes of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws was to revise “the law on child custody jurisdiction in light of federal enactments and almost thirty years of inconsistent case law” by:

· providing clearer standards for which states could exercise original jurisdiction over child custody determinations;

· enunciating a standard of continuing jurisdiction;

· clarifying modification jurisdiction; and

· harmonizing the law on simultaneous proceedings, clean hands, and forum non conveniens.

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (1997) (Nov. 20, 1998), available at:

www.law.upenn.edu/bll/archives/ulc/uccjea/final1997act.

htm

The various bases for establishing jurisdiction under the MoUCCJEA are codified as §§ 452.740–452.845, RSMo Supp. 2011.

The Supreme Court of Missouri addressed the issue of...