Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1923 – Temporary emergency jurisdiction
(a) A court of this State has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this State and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1923
- Abandoned: means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- Child: means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- Child custody determination: means a judgment, decree or other order of a court providing for the legal custody, physical custody or visitation with respect to a child. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- Child custody proceeding: means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody or visitation with respect to a child is an issue. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- Court: means the Family Court of the State. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- Home State: means the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least 6 consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- 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: 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. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- State: means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United State Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 13 Sec. 1902
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(b) If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 1920-1922 of this title a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 1920-1922 of this title. If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 1920-1922 of this title, a child custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination if it so provides and this State becomes the home state of the child.
(c) If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this chapter, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 1920-1922 of this title, any order issued by a court of this State under this section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction under §§ 1920-1922 of this title. The order issued in this State remains in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or the period expires.
(d) A court of this State which has been asked to make a child custody determination under this section, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in or a child custody determination has been made by a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 1920-1922 of this title, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this State which is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to §§ 1920-1922 of this title, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in or a child custody determination has been made by a court of another state under a statute similar to this section, shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.