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The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act In Virginia, Elizabeth Carrington Shuff

University of Richmond Law Review

Due to the dramatic rise over the last decade in the number of child custody disputes between parents who are geographically separated, courts increasingly are faced with interstate litigation and its attendant legal and emotional problems. Because foreign state custody decrees traditionally have been viewed as modifiable and therefore have not been accorded the respect given to final decrees, parents who lose in one state have been encouraged to seek a more favorable forum in a second state. By employing such self-help methods as "child snatching,"' a parent can avail himself of a second day in court.