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| | Determining Whether Court May Exercise Its Jurisdiction |
A court may, as a general rule, exercise its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify all aspects of its decree, including managing conservatorship, possession of and access to the child, and support of the child. There are the following exceptions in interstate cases
Modification of Managing Conservatorship
A court may not exercise its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its own managing conservatorship order if modification is precluded by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Under the UCCJEA, except in an emergency, a Texas court that has made a child custody determination has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination until either:
- A Texas court determines that neither the child, nor the child and one parent, nor the child and a person acting as a parent, have a significant connection with Texas and that substantial evidence is no longer available in Texas concerning the child's care, protection, training, and personal relationships; or
- A Texas court or a court of another state determines that the child, the child's parents, and any person acting as a parent do not presently reside in Texas.
If a Texas court makes a child custody determination but then loses exclusive, continuing jurisdiction, it may modify its own determination only if it has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under Family Code Section 152.201. Child custody determination means a judgment, decree, or other court order providing for legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child. The term does not include an order relating to child support or another monetary obligation of an individual.
Modification of Possession and Access
The UCCJEA rules stated above apply to modification of possessory as well as managing conservatorship, since the UCCJEA defines a child custody determination as including both custody and visitation. Family Code Section 155.003 also sets out rules for the court's exercise of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction, and these rules differ depending on whether the requested modification affects managing conservatorship or possessory conservatorship. Under Section 155.003(c), once a child acquires a new home state, the Texas court that rendered an original SAPCR order retains continuing jurisdiction over the terms of visitation as long as one contestant remains in Texas, even though the court may not modify managing conservatorship
Modification of Child Support
A court may not exercise its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its child support order if modification is precluded by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). UIFSA precludes modification when:
- All parties and the child reside elsewhere.
- The order has been modified by a court in another state pursuant to a law substantially similar to UIFSA
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