(a)  Except as otherwise provided, a court of this state may not exercise its jurisdiction under this chapter if, at the time of the commencement of the proceeding, a proceeding concerning the custody of the child has been commenced in a court of another state having jurisdiction substantially in conformity with this chapter, unless the proceeding has been terminated or is stayed by the court of the other state because a court of this state is a more convenient forum.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-18

  • Child custody proceeding: means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child is an issue. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-14.1-2
  • Commencement: means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding;

    (6)  "Court" means the family court of the State of Rhode Island unless another meaning is so indicated;

    (7)  "Home state" means the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six (6) consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding. 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.

(b)  Except as otherwise provided, a court of this state, before hearing a child custody proceeding, shall examine the court documents and other information supplied by the parties pursuant to this chapter. If the court determined that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court in another state having jurisdiction substantially in accordance with this chapter, the court of this state shall stay its proceeding and communicate with the court of the other state. If the court of the state having jurisdiction substantially in accordance with this chapter does not determine that the court of this state is a more appropriate forum, the court of this state shall dismiss the proceeding.

(c)  In a proceeding to modify a child custody determination, a court of this state shall determine whether a proceeding to enforce the determination has been commenced in another state. If a proceeding to enforce a child custody determination has been commenced in another state, the court may:

(1)  Stay the proceeding for modification pending the entry of an order of a court of the other state enforcing, staying, denying, or dismissing the proceeding for enforcement;

(2)  Enjoin the parties from continuing with the proceeding for enforcement; or

(3)  Proceed with the modification under conditions it considers appropriate.

History of Section.
P.L. 2003, ch. 307, § 2; P.L. 2003, ch. 322, § 2.