Massachusetts General Laws ch. 209D sec. 2-204 – Simultaneous proceedings
Section 2–204. Simultaneous proceedings.
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 209D sec. 2-204
- 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.
(a) A tribunal of the commonwealth may exercise jurisdiction to establish a support order if the petition or comparable pleading is filed after a pleading is filed in another state or a foreign country only if:
(1) the petition or comparable pleading in the commonwealth is filed before the expiration of the time allowed in the other state or the foreign country for filing a responsive pleading challenging the exercise of jurisdiction by the other state or the foreign country;
(2) the contesting party timely challenges the exercise of jurisdiction in the other state or the foreign country; and
(3) if relevant, the commonwealth is the home state of the child.
(b) A tribunal of the commonwealth may not exercise jurisdiction to establish a support order if the petition or comparable pleading is filed before a petition or comparable pleading is filed in another state or a foreign country if:
(1) the petition or comparable pleading in the other state or foreign country is filed before the expiration of the time allowed in the commonwealth for filing a responsive pleading challenging the exercise of jurisdiction by the commonwealth;
(2) the contesting party timely challenges the exercise of jurisdiction in the commonwealth; and
(3) if relevant, the other state or foreign country is the home state of the child.