Vermont Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1071
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 15 Sec. 1071
- Child: means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age. See
- 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
- Commencement: means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding. See
- Court: means an entity authorized under the law of a state to establish, enforce, or modify a child custody determination. See
- 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 a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding. See
- 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
- Person acting as a parent: means a person, other than a parent, who:
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U. See
§ 1071. Initial child custody jurisdiction
(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 1074 of this title, a Vermont court has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination only if:
(1) Vermont is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding or was the home state of the child within six months before the commencement of the proceeding and the child is absent from Vermont, but a parent or person acting as a parent continues to live in Vermont;
(2) a court of another state does not have jurisdiction under subdivision (1) of this subsection, or a court of the home state of the child has declined to exercise jurisdiction on the ground that Vermont is the more appropriate forum under section 1077 or 1078 of this title, and:
(A) the child and the child’s parents, or the child and at least one parent or a person acting as a parent, have a significant connection with Vermont other than mere physical presence; and
(B) substantial evidence is available in Vermont concerning the child’s care, protection, training, and personal relationships;
(3) all courts having jurisdiction under subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection have declined to exercise jurisdiction on the grounds that a Vermont court is the more appropriate forum to determine the custody of the child under section 1077 or 1078 of this title; or
(4) no court of any other state would have jurisdiction under the criteria specified in subdivision (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section is the exclusive jurisdictional basis for making a child custody determination by a Vermont court.
(c) Physical presence of, or personal jurisdiction over, a party or a child is not necessary or sufficient to make a child custody determination. (Added 2011, No. 29, § 1.)