Which state has jurisdiction over our custody case?

Question

My son was born in May of 2007. Due to drama between the mother and I, I was not there and did not meet him till November of 2007. In August of 2007, my wife and her mother filed an order awarding temporary joint physical custody to herself and her mother in the state of Tennessee. I live in VIrginia. We ended up getting married in Virginia in December of 2007, and we did an affidavit to get my name on the birth certificate and to get my son's last name changed to mine. I am now on the birth certificate and his last name is my last name. We are now getting a divorce, yes I know, after 8 months. My questions are, by getting put on the birth certificate, does this cancel out the temporary joint custody that they did, and if not, what state has jurisdiction over the case. According to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, the home state is the state the child has resided in for the last 6 months immediately before the commencement of a child-custody proceeding, that state being Virginia. Thanks for any help. If I did not explain the situation good enough, please let me know and I will try to explain it better.

Answer 1

I agree with bubbles.  And, the parent that has physical custody of the child when they file for divorce is the one that has temporary custody till the trial.  I'm not sure in your situation since there was a hearing and order by judge prior to your getting placed on birth certificate.  First and foremost is you need to go see an attorney immediately.  If you do not then you could stand a chance of losing your son or at least getting to see him very little if mother lives or chooses to live in another state and probably pay a higher amount of support since you wouldn't have as much visitation.  My advice is go see a lwyer immediately and try to look out for the best interest of your child.  I know it will be hard but the more you and the mother can get along or at least agree to keep it between the two of you and not use the baby as a pawn (sad but some mom's do to get more money and some dads do to pay less).  Good luck but be smart.  What you agree to now will be enforced for a long time.  

Answer 2

whatever the state is at the time of divorce if you guys were residents at least 6 months..theyre the ones that will handle the divorce and the custody of the child...

that state is the one that has jurisdiction...

in otherwords...whatever state you file for divorce is the state that will handle the custody issue...

Answer 3

The state the child was born in.