Family Law Commons^™

Habitual Residence, Home State, And Cross-Border Custody Jurisdiction: Time For A Temporal Standard In International Family Law, Todd Matthew Heine

Todd Heine

This article addresses jurisdictional standards that arise in every cross-border child custody dispute between European Union Member States and the United States—habitual residence and home state jurisdiction. These jurisdictional standards face uncertainty in many cases. The article covers three areas of international family law. First, the article provides a history of family law jurisdiction in the United States and thoroughly reviews home state jurisdiction in United States domestic law. While domestic family lawyers know this standard, the standard’s rigidity and fragmented application among the states baffles many foreign family lawyers. Second, the article offers an overview of the remarkable emergence …