Terms Used In Florida Statutes 61.510

  • Child: means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age. See Florida Statutes 61.503
  • Child custody determination: means a judgment, decree, or other order of a court providing for the legal custody, physical custody, residential care, or visitation with respect to a child. See Florida Statutes 61.503
  • 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.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Modification: means a child custody determination that changes, replaces, supersedes, or is otherwise made after a previous determination concerning the same child, regardless of whether it is made by the court that made the previous determination. See Florida Statutes 61.503
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, or government; governmental subdivision, agency, instrumentality, or public corporation; or any other legal or commercial entity. See Florida Statutes 61.503
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Florida Statutes 61.503

(1) A party to a child custody proceeding, including a modification proceeding, or a petitioner or respondent in a proceeding to enforce or register a child custody determination, is not subject to personal jurisdiction in this state for another proceeding or purpose solely by reason of having participated, or of having been physically present for the purpose of participating, in the proceeding.
(2) A person who is subject to personal jurisdiction in this state on a basis other than physical presence is not immune from service of process in this state. A party present in this state who is subject to the jurisdiction of another state is not immune from service of process allowable under the laws of that state.
(3) The immunity granted by subsection (1) does not extend to civil litigation based on an act unrelated to the participation in a proceeding under this part which was committed by an individual while present in this state.