Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-15. Jurisdiction to modify determination
Except as otherwise provided, a court of this state may not modify a child custody determination made by a court of another state unless a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial determination, and:
(1) The court of the other state determines it no longer has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction or that a court of this state would be a more convenient forum; or
(2) A court of this state or a court of the other state determines that the child, the child’s parents, and any person acting as a parent do not presently reside in the other state.
History of Section.
P.L. 2003, ch. 307, § 2; P.L. 2003, ch. 322, § 2.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-15
- Initial determination: means the first child custody determination concerning a particular child;
(9) "Issuing court" means the court that makes a child custody determination for which enforcement is sought under this chapter;
(10) "Issuing state" means the state in which a child custody determination is made;
(11) "Modification" means a child custody determination that changes, replaces, supercedes, or is otherwise made after a previous determination concerning the same child, whether or not it is made by the court that made the previous determination;
(12) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity;
(13) "Person acting as a parent" means a person, other than a parent, who:
(i) Has physical custody of the child or has had physical custody for a period of six (6) consecutive months, including any temporary absence, within one year immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding; and
(ii) Has been awarded legal custody by a court or claims a right to legal custody under the law of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-2
- 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: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6