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Manhattan, New York City, Westchester, Long Island and beyond
+1 646-241-8602
If your child has lived in New York for the last six months, a New York court can usually decide your custody case. If your child recently moved here, or moved away, the rules get harder fast. A Family Court Jurisdiction Lawyer New York families trust can tell you in one call which state and which court holds the power to rule. At Collins Law Group, PLLC, that is the first question we answer for you.
If your child has lived in New York for the last six months, a New York court can usually decide your custody case. If your child recently moved here, or moved away, the rules get harder fast. A Family Court Jurisdiction Lawyer New York families trust can tell you in one call which state and which court holds the power to rule. At Collins Law Group, PLLC, that is the first question we answer for you.
Jurisdiction means one simple thing: which court is allowed to make the decision. Get it wrong, and a judge can toss out your whole case after months of work. Get it right, and you file in the correct court the first time.
Quick example: Maria and her son moved from New Jersey to Queens in January. In March, the father filed for custody in New Jersey. Maria wanted to file in New York. Because her son had lived here for only two months, New Jersey was still the child’s “home state.” Her New York filing would have been dismissed. A jurisdiction check on day one saved her months of wasted effort. That is the value of the right lawyer before you file.
When two parents live in two different states, one court still has to decide. As an Interstate Child Custody Lawyer NY parents rely on, we find that court before you file a single paper.
Interstate cases follow a national law called the UCCJEA (more on that below). The rule looks at where your child has lived, not where you live now. That surprises many parents. You can live in Manhattan and still have your case belong in Florida, if that is where your child spent the last six months.
We take on cases where one parent moved out of New York with the child, where the other parent filed first in another state, where two states each try to claim the same case, and where you need to enforce a New York order somewhere else or bring another state’s order back home. Winning the right court from the start protects your time with your child.
The UCCJEA is the rule book for interstate custody. It stands for the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. New York put it into law under Domestic Relations Law Sections 75-a through 77-b. Every state except one uses it, so the same map applies almost everywhere. A skilled UCCJEA Lawyer NY parents recommend reads that map for you.
Here is the plain-English version of how a court decides:
The "home state" is where your child lived with a parent for at least six months in a row right before the case starts. For a baby under six months old, it is where the child has lived since birth. The home state almost always wins.
If no state is the home state, a court looks at where the child and a parent have close ties, and where the real proof about the child lives, like doctors, teachers, and family.
If the first two rules do not settle it, the court picks the state that makes the most sense for the child.
Two more points that trip people up. First, if your child has been out of New York for more than six months, New York usually loses its power to rule. Second, you cannot simply agree to give a court power it does not have. A judge can raise the jurisdiction question on their own, even late in the case. That is why we check it on day one.
Short example: A father brings his daughter to the Bronx for what he calls a two-week visit, then files for custody here. The mother and child have lived in Ohio for three years. Ohio is still the home state. A New York judge would send the case back. Knowing this saves a parent from a costly mistake.
A Jurisdiction Attorney NY families call does more than name the right state. We fight over it when the answer is not clear, and many cases live in that gray zone.
Real fights we handle include a “race to the courthouse,” where the parent who files first may lock in that state. They include children who split time across two states, where the six-month count is close. They include emergency filings, where a child is in New York and in danger, which can give a court short-term power even when another state is the home state. And they include claims that New York is an “inconvenient forum,” meaning another state is a better place to hear the case because the proof and witnesses are there.
Each of these turns on small facts: exact move dates, school records, lease start dates, and travel history. We gather those facts, put them in a clear affidavit, and argue them in front of the judge. Small details decide big cases.
Venue is not the same as jurisdiction, and mixing them up costs time. Jurisdiction asks whether New York can hear your case at all. Venue asks which New York county courthouse should hear it. A Family Court Venue Lawyer NY parents trust makes sure you file in the right borough, not just the right state.
New York City has a separate Family Court in each borough: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. The general rule is to file where the child lives. File in the wrong county and the court can move your case, which adds weeks. We confirm the correct courthouse before we file, so your case starts on solid ground and stays on schedule.
Some families are spread across three or four states. A parent in New York, a child in Georgia, grandparents in Pennsylvania, and a prior order from New Jersey is not rare. A Multi-State Family Lawyer NY families depend on keeps all those moving parts straight.
We coordinate with lawyers in other states when needed. We track which state issued the first order, because that state often keeps power to change it later, a rule called “exclusive continuing jurisdiction.” We also handle foreign moves. New York treats another country like another state for these rules, so a child who moved to Canada or the Dominican Republic is handled the same careful way. One clear plan across every state keeps you from fighting the same battle twice.
Most parents call a Custody Jurisdiction Lawyer NY at one of two moments: right before they file, or right after they get served with papers from another state. Both moments are time-sensitive.
If you plan to file, we check the six-month home-state count, your child’s full address history, and any past orders. Then we file in the court that will actually keep your case. If you were just served, we read the papers fast. Sometimes the other state has no real power, and we move to dismiss or transfer. Sometimes their court is correct, and we protect you there instead. Either way, you get a straight answer about where you stand and what to do next.
Not every custody case is an interstate case. Many are simple New York matters that still need a steady hand. As a Family Court Attorney NY parents recommend, Collins Law Group, PLLC handles the full range: custody, visitation, child support, orders of protection, and paternity.
When your case stays inside New York, we guide you through each step, from filing the first petition to the final order. When your case crosses state lines, we bring the added skill of a Family Court Jurisdiction Lawyer New York courts respect. You get one team for both, so nothing falls through the cracks as your case changes.
This is the question we hear most, so here is the direct answer. In New York, two courts handle family matters, and they are not the same.
Family Court: Handles custody, visitation, child support, paternity, and orders of protection. It is built for parents who may not have a lawyer, and it charges no fee to file a custody petition. Unmarried parents and post-divorce changes usually belong here.
Supreme Court: This is the only court that can grant a divorce or split up marital property. If you are getting divorced, your custody issue rides along inside that divorce case in Supreme Court. Filing a divorce there needs a $210 index number fee.
The simple rule: No divorce in the picture? Family Court. Divorce in the picture? Supreme Court, with custody folded in. After a divorce, many changes can go to either court. A short call with a Family Court Jurisdiction Lawyer New York families trust clears up which door is yours, so you never file in the wrong place.
Our work as a Family Court Jurisdiction Lawyer New York team is built to answer the hard question early and act on it fast.
On your first call, we ask about every place your child has lived over the past five years. We map the six-month home-state count. You leave that call knowing which state, and which court, likely holds the power.
We collect the proof that settles jurisdiction: leases, school and medical records, travel logs, and any prior court orders. We turn it into a clean, signed affidavit that a judge can trust.
If New York is your court, we file first and file right. If another parent filed elsewhere first, we push to dismiss, transfer, or move the case to the correct forum. Speed matters here, because the first valid filing often controls.
We stay with you from the first appearance to the final order, and we help enforce that order across state lines if the other parent moves.
Collins Law Group, PLLC serves families in all five boroughs. We appear in the Manhattan Family Court on Lafayette Street, the Brooklyn Family Court on Jay Street, the Queens Family Court in Jamaica, the Bronx Family Court on Sheridan Avenue, and the Staten Island Family Court on Richmond Terrace. We also handle divorce-linked custody in the New York County Supreme Court near Foley Square.
From Harlem to Bay Ridge, from Long Island City to Riverdale, we help parents across the city who are facing custody questions that cross state or county lines. If you live near New York City and your case touches another state, we can help.
If your custody case crosses state lines, the clock is already running. The parent who files in the right court first often holds the advantage. Do not let a filing in the wrong place cost you months with your child.
Call Collins Law Group, PLLC today for a free consultation. A Family Court Jurisdiction Lawyer New York families trust will map your child’s living history, name the court that holds the power, and give you a clear next step. One call can protect your case and your time with your child.
Call +1 646-241-8602 or reach out through our contact page. We serve clients across Manhattan, Westchester, Long Island and the greater New York City area.