New Jersey Statutes 3B:12B-14. Jurisdiction declined by reason of conduct
Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 3B:12B-14
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian: means a person who has qualified as a guardian of the person or estate of a minor or incapacitated individual pursuant to testamentary or court appointment, but excludes one who is merely a guardian ad litem. See New Jersey Statutes 3B:1-1
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
- State: extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
a. If, at any time, a court of this State determines that it acquired jurisdiction to declare a person incapacitated, appoint a guardian, or issue a protective order because of unjustifiable conduct, the court may:
(1) decline to exercise jurisdiction;
(2) exercise jurisdiction for the limited purpose of fashioning an appropriate remedy to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the respondent or the protection of the respondent’s property or prevent a repetition of the unjustifiable conduct, including staying the proceeding until a petition for the appointment of a guardian or issuance of a protective order is filed in a court of another state having jurisdiction; or
(3) continue to exercise jurisdiction after considering:
(a) the extent to which the respondent and all persons required to be notified of the proceedings have acquiesced in the exercise of the court’s jurisdiction;
(b) whether it is a more appropriate forum than the court of any other state under the factors set forth in subsection c. of section 13 of P.L.2012, c.36 (C. 3B:12B-13); and
(c) whether the court of any other state would have jurisdiction under factual circumstances in substantial conformity with the jurisdictional standards of section 9 of P.L.2012, c.36 (C. 3B:12B-9).
b. If a court of this State determines that it acquired jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order because a party seeking to invoke its jurisdiction engaged in unjustifiable conduct, it may assess against that party necessary and reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, investigative fees, court costs, communication expenses, witness fees and expenses, and travel expenses. The court may not assess fees, costs, or expenses of any kind against this State or a governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of this State unless authorized by law other than P.L.2012, c.36 (C. 3B:12B-1 et al.).
L.2012, c.36, s.14.