Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

If a parent moves to another state after a Florida court makes a child custody determination, can jurisdiction over the case be transferred to the other state? The answer depends on many factors, but it is possible for another state to take jurisdiction over the case. This was an issue in Beehler v. Beehler, 1D19-1788 (Fla. 1st DCA December 2, 2022).

A final judgment of divorce was entered which permitted the former wife to move to Idaho with the parties’ children. The former husband’s residency remained in Florida. Soon after the final judgment was entered, the former wife filed a motion for modification of custody in Idaho. Concurrently, in Florida, she filed a motion to transfer jurisdiction under Fla. Stat. 61.520. The former wife claimed Florida was an inconvenient forum, that all evidence concerning the children’s lives was in Idaho, that she did not have the financial ability to travel to and from Florida, and that the former husband’s made abuse allegations against her, the witnesses for which were in Idaho. The trial court denied her motion to transfer, and she appealed.

The appellate court noted that the former wife requested relief under the wrong statute “We reject the former wife’s contentions of error. We do so because section 61.520 is not the correct statute through which to have the trial court relinquish (or ‘transfer’) its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the custody and timesharing matters addressed in the final dissolution judgment. There is nothing in the record that would support such a relinquishment under the applicable statute, section 61.515.” The court continued “We mentioned in the introduction to this part that the former wife has the wrong statute. We say this because she cannot point to an issue that was pending before the trial court regarding its original custody determination when she made the motion. Section 61.520 undoubtedly is a forum provision, and the term ‘forum’ references a place to resolve a pending dispute. Put another way, if there is no dispute, there is no need for a forum (convenient or inconvenient) in which to have it resolved.”

The court concluded “At all events, the evidence supported the trial court’s findings that the former husband still is a resident of Florida and that there remains a connection between Florida and at least one of the parents and the children. The trial court concluded, essentially, that it was appropriate ‘to continue maintaining jurisdiction in Florida.’ Even if the former wife had proceeded instead under section 61.515 to ‘transfer jurisdiction,’ there was no evidentiary basis for doing so, and the trial court’s determination that it still had exclusive jurisdiction was legally correct.”

If you have questions about transferring jurisdiction of your child custody matter from or to Florida, schedule a consultation with a Miami child custody lawyer.