Start Here

NO

Does thePetition seek

only to ENFORCEan out-of state custody

or placement order?

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Chart.

Has there ever been

an order* or custody determination concerning

this child in anycourt of any

state?

NO

YES

YES

*Order can have been ina criminal or civil case, including pater-

nity, divorce, separation, child neglect, abuse,dependency, guardianship. termination of

parental rights, domestic violence, etc..

UCCJEA Jurisdiction Starting Page

For Wisconsin Cases

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Chart

Note 1

Go ToINITIAL ORDERS

Chart

©DAVID A. BLUMBERGwww.uccjea.net

CLICK on any oval with a

|blue outline|to go tothe chart or text

indicated

This chart was originally prepared for use in the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook, Vol III.

Start here

WasWisconsin

the child’s homestate when the

action wasfiled??

INITIAL ORDERS

Is the child

absent fromWisconsin?

WasWisconsin the

child’s home statewithin six months

before thecase was

filed?

Does oneparent or “person

acting as a parent”still live inWisconsin?

Doesany other statehave jurisdictionunder the above

rules?

Do the child

and at least oneparent (or person acting as a parent)

have a significant connectionwith Wisconsin, otherthan mere physical

presence?

Is substantial

evidence about thechild’s care, protection,

training & personal rela-tionships available

in Wisconsin?Has child’s

home state declined jurisd. on ground of incon-

venient forum or that a party en-gaged in unjustifiable conduct AND

that court decided that Wisc.is a more appropriate

forum??

..

Go toDecline Jurisdiction

Chart

Wisconsin has jurisdiction

to hear & decidethe action.

[§822.21(1)(a) or (b)]

Track

182

2.21(1

)(a)

Track

2822

.21(1)

(a)

Track

3

822.21

(1)(b)

Track

3 (a

)

Have ALL courts having juris-

diction under Tracks 1, 2 &3 declined jurisdiction on grounds

of inconvenient forum or unjustifiableconduct AND have those courts

all decided that Wisconsinis a more appropri-

ate forum?

Wisconsin has jurisdiction

to hear & decidethe action.

[§822.21(1) (c) or (d)]

Does acourt of any

other state havejurisdiction under any

of the abovetracks?

Wisconsin has no juris-diction on any basis.

NO

NO

NO

NO

NONONO

NO

NO

NO NO

YES

YES YES YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

Track

482

2.21

(c)

Track

5

822.21

(d)

Is thechild present in Wiscon-

sin?

Is thechild abandoned

OR is it necessary in an emergency to protect the child be-

cause s/he (or a parent or a sibling) has been threatened with or subjected

to mistreatment or abuse?

NO

Temp. Emerg

.

§822.2

4

YES

NO

YES

Go to TemporaryEmergency Jurisdiction in

“The UCCJEA: A FocusedIntroduction”

©DAVID A. BLUMBERGwww.uccjea.net

This chart was originally prepared for use in the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook,,Vol III.

Start Here

Go ToINITIAL ORDERS

Chart.

Does thechild OR at least

one of the parents* stillreside in the state that

made the most re-cent order?

Wasthe most re-

cent order issuedin Wiscon-

sin?

Doesthe child and

at least one parent* still have “a significant

connection” † with Wisconsin?

Has a court in the state

that made the most re-cent order determined that

it lacks continuing juris-diction under its

own law?

Go toDECLINE

JURISDICTION Chart.

NONO

NO

YES

YES

NO

YES

YES

MODIFICATION

Wisc. lacks jurisdictionto modify the order (unless

a court in the state where the child nowlives cedes jurisdiction to Wisconsin)..

[ 822.22 (1) (a) [ 822.22 (1) (a) ]]

Wisc. lacks jurisdiction tomodify the order (unless a court

in the state that made the most recentorder cedes jurisdiction to Wisconsin).

[ 822.23 (1) ]

The originalstate has lost its

exclusive, continuingjurisdiction to modifyits order. [822.22 (1)(b)

or 822.23 (2)]

Wisconsinstill has exclusive, continuing jurisdic-tion to modify the

order. [822.22]

©DAVID A. BLUMBERGwww.uccjea.net

An earlier version of this chart was prepared for the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook,,Vol III.

Go ToINITIAL ORDERS

Chart.

* “Parent” refers not only to an

actual parent, but alsoto “a person acting

as a parent.”

Note 2

Is sub-stantial evidence

concerning the child’scare, protection, training and

personal relationshipsstill available in

Wisconsin?

Note 2

YES

NO

† In statesthat have decided the

issue, courts generally find “a significant connection” stillexists if, e.g., the child has re- turned to that state for visits

as infrequently as once ortwice a year.

Note 3

Decline JurisdictionStart Here

Has anInconvenient

Forum motion beenbrought OR does it appearthat another state may be a

more appropriate forumto determine this

proceeding?

Consider all 8 fac-tors in §822.27(2) :

a. Domestic violenceb. Time child has lived out of state

c. Distance between possible courts d. Relative financial abilities

e. Agreement re preferred courtf. Nature & location of evidenceg. Ct. congestion & proceduresh. Ct.’s familiarity with facts

Then. . .

DECIDE:Is the other state

a more appropriateforum to determine

this proceeding?[§822.27]

This court may hearand determine this

custody proceeding

STAY theWisconsin action on

condition that a proceed-ing be filed promptly in

the other designatedstate, and imposeany other appro-priate conditions.

NO

YES

NO

YES

Does Wisconsin

have jurisdictionbecause petitioner

engaged in“unjustifiableconduct?”*

NO Wouldany other state

have either initial ormodification jurisdic-

tion to hearthis case?

YES

NO

Has acourt in such a

state determined thatWisconsin is a moreappropriate forum

(per §822.27)?

YES

YES

Have both parents

AND all “personsacting as parents” acqui-

esced in Wisconsin’s exerciseof jurisdiction, despite

the unjustifiableconduct?

NO

YES

This court must decline to exercise jurisdiction.

[ §822.28(1) ]

NO Awardcosts, fees and

expenses againstpetitioner, as per

§822.28(3).AND...

Fashiona remedy, per

§822.28(2) to ensurethe child’s safety and

to prevent repeti-tion of the unjusti-

fiable conduct...

And Must

AndMay

* “Unjustifiable Conduct” mustbe more than some technical illegality

or wrong. E.g., it could include abduction &hiding for six months, but fleeing with a child

to escape domestic abuse should not qualify, even if doing so violated

a placement order.

§ 822

.28 (1

)

Note 4

©DAVID A. BLUMBERGwww.uccjea.net

This chart was originally prepared for use in the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook,,Vol III.

The courtmay (but is not

required to) communi-cate with the other courtif doing so would help to

clarify any considera-tion for the motion.

[See §822.10]

§ 822.2

8 (1)(a)

ENFORCEMENTunder the UCCJEA

Choose the typeof proceeding

Proceeding to ENFORCE An Out-of-State

Custody Determination(Wis. Stats.§ §822.38 – 822.41)

Proceeding To Opposethe REGISTRATION of

An Out-of-State Custody Determination

(Wis. Stat. §822.35)

Did theRespondent

prove that the issuingcourt lacked jurisdiction

under Wis. Stats.822.21–.24?

Did theRespondent

prove that he/shewas entitled to notice, but

that notice was not given per§822.08 standards, in

the case beforethe issuing

court?

Did theRespondent

prove that the order has been vacated, stayed,or modified by a court with

jurisdiction under Wis.Stats. §§ 822.21–

822.24?

NO

Does the Petitioner also

seek either to modifyor to enforce the

out-of-stateorder?

ISSUEan order

sustaining theobjections andvacating theregistration.

YESYES

YES

NO NO

YES

ISSUE an order

denying the objections andconfirming theregistration.

Then...

WasRespondent’s

objection filed within20 days after the clerk sent notice?

[822.35(5)]

ISSUEan order

denying the objections andconfirming theregistration.

Then...

NO

YES

Does the Petitioner also

seek either to modifyor to enforce the

out-of-stateorder?

NONO

Chooseeither...

YES

Seeks to enforce

the order

Seeks tomodify

the order

See Sec. III, I, 2 of“The UCCJEA: A

Focused Introduction”

Go ToMODIFICATION

Chart

©DAVID A. BLUMBERG (877) 9-UCCJEA

A similar version of this chart was originally prepared for use in the Wisconsin Judicial Benchbook, Vol. III

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