Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 40 > Chapter 7 > Part 2 - Jurisdiction

• Abandoned: means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Child: means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• 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 Montana Code 40-7-103
• Child custody proceeding: means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child is an issue. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Commencement: means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Court: means an entity authorized under the law of a state to establish, enforce, or modify a child custody determination. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Home state: means the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as parent for at least 6 consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Initial determination: means the first child custody determination concerning a particular child. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• 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: includes a government, a governmental subdivision, an agency, an instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Person acting as a parent: means a person, other than a parent, who:

  (a)has physical custody of the child or has had physical custody for a period of 6 consecutive months, including any temporary absence, within 1 year immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding; and

  (b)has been awarded legal custody by a court or claims a right to legal custody under the law of this state. See Montana Code 40-7-103

• 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 Montana Code 40-7-103
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.