Child Custody - Georgia Case Law Update
On February 10, 2009, in Hall v. Wellborn (A08A1800), the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of a mother’s Petition to Enforce Custody due to lack of jurisdiction. In December 2003, the mother divorced her former husband and was awarded custody of the minor child who, through paternity testing, was found not to be the child of the former husband. Shortly thereafter, the mother and child moved to Florida where the child’s biological father lived. The father filed a paternity action in Florida seeking sole custody and was awarded primary physical custody of the child.
Shortly thereafter, the mother filed an action in Georgia seeking to enforce the original Georgia custody Order. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of this action because the Georgia court had lost continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Under the UCCJEA, a Georgia court that makes an initial child custody determination maintains continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over subsequent custody matters except when neither the child nor the child’s parents have a significant connection to the state, or when neither the child nor the child’s parents presently reside in the state. Thus, Georgia lost jurisdiction and Florida was the proper state in which to bring this custody action.
