As more people move to Austin from both around the country and around the world, jurisdictional issues have become more prominent in local family law. One of the most frequent questions I receive is about “emergency jurisdiction.” This arises when a Court in another state has jurisdiction, but the child and a parent are in Texas and need immediate Court orders. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction, better known as the UCCJEA, allows the Texas Court to make orders in cases where a child, the parent of the child, or a sibling of a child are subject to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse. (See Texas Family Code 152.204). Interestingly the Family Code does not define mistreatment or abuse, however TFC 261.001 defines abuse as “mental or emotional injury to a child that results in an observable and material impairment in the child’s growth, development, or psychological functioning.”
If the Court finds that “mistreatment or abuse” has occurred they may render an emergency order. The catch is that this order has a limited lifespan and does not confer ongoing jurisdiction to the Texas Court. The Court may only render an order for a period of time “adequate to allow the person seeking the order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction.” TFC 152.204(c) The Family Code also requires the Texas Court to communicate with the state that has jurisdiction to resolve the emergency. Practically, an emergency order will likely be in effect for a brief time and the final determination of the facts surrounding the emergency will be determined by the state which has continuing jurisdiction. There is a page on my website that discusses jurisdiction for more information on that issue.