§ 31-21-5-4 — Temporary emergency jurisdiction; child custody determinations; communication with other courts

Indiana § 31-21-5-4

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 21: UNIFORM CHILD CUSTODY JURISDICTION
• Ch. 5: Jurisdiction

Text

(a) An Indiana court has temporary emergency
jurisdiction if the child is present in Indiana and:
(1) the child has been abandoned; or
(2) it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because:
(A) the child;
(B) the child's sibling; or
(C) the child's parent;
is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.
(b) If:
(1) there is no previous child custody determination that is
entitled to be enforced under this article; and
(2) a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court
of a state having jurisdiction under sections 1 through 3 of this
chapter;
a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect
until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction
under sections 1 through 3 of this chapter.
(c) If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced
in a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 1 through 3 of
this chapter, a child custody determination made under this section
becomes a final determination, and, if it so provides, Indiana becomes
the home state of the child.
(d) If:
(1) there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled
to be enforced under this article; or
(2) a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of
a state having jurisdiction under sections 1 through 3 of this
chapter;
an order issued by an Indiana court under this section must specify in
the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person
seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction
under sections 1 through 3 of this chapter.
(e) The order issued in Indiana remains in effect until an order is
obtained from the other state within the period specified or the period
expires.
(f) An Indiana court that has been asked to make a child custody
determination under this section, on being informed that:
(1) a child custody proceeding has been commenced in; or
(2) a child custody determination has been made by;
a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 1 through 3 of this
chapter, shall immediately communicate with the other court.
(g) An Indiana court that is exercising jurisdiction under sections 1
through 3 of this chapter, on being informed that:
(1) a child custody proceeding has been commenced in; or
(2) a child custody determination has been made by;
a court of another state under a statute similar to this section, shall
immediately communicate with the court of the other state to resolve
the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and
determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.138-2007, SEC.45.