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Legal Information: General

Custody

Laws current as of April 27, 2023

I want to change (modify) my final custody order but I have moved to a new state. Can I have the custody order modified by my new state?

If you have a final custody order and you move to another state, you will generally still have to return to the original state and ask the court that issued the order to make any modifications (changes) to the order. However, it is possible that your new state would agree to modify the order if one of the following is true:

  1. the original court decides that it cannot modify (change) the order;
  2. the original court agrees to transfer the case to your new state; or
  3. there are no longer any “interested parties,” such as the child, a parent, or an individual acting as a parent, living in the original state.1

In addition, the court in the new state can change (modify) your order temporarily if there is an emergency.

1 UCCJEA § 203

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