Texas Divorce Attorney Blog
When parents and children have connections to more than one state, determining which state’s courts have authority to decide custody can become a threshold issue in a Texas family law case. The Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision in In re Interest of K.N. illustrates an important distinction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA): a Texas court may still have the authority to decide a custody case even when the specific UCCJEA rule being used to justify the court’s involvement does not apply. In re K.N., No. 24-0881, slip op. at 9–14 (Tex. June 5, 2026).
The Facts of In re K.N.
The case arose from a child-protection proceeding involving four children and repeated allegations of abuse concerning the oldest child. After the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services became involved, the parents were ordered to participate in services, and the trial court ultimately appointed the Department temporary managing conservator.
When the parents failed to comply with an order requiring them to turn the children over, they took the children to Louisiana. The children were later returned to Texas.
The Texas trial court had invoked both the UCCJEA’s home-state jurisdiction and its temporary emergency jurisdiction when the proceeding began. The parents later argued that the Texas court lacked emergency jurisdiction because the children were physically in Louisiana when the protective order was issued.
What Does the UCCJEA Require?
Texas Family Code § 152.201 establishes the primary bases for initial child custody jurisdiction. Generally, Texas may exercise jurisdiction when Texas is the child’s “home state,” meaning the child lived in Texas with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the proceeding, subject to the statute’s other provisions. Physical presence or personal jurisdiction over a parent, standing alone, is not sufficient.
Texas courts have repeatedly emphasized that the home-state inquiry is designed to prevent competing custody proceedings in different states. For example, in Powell v. Stover, the Texas Supreme Court held that Texas could not exercise initial custody jurisdiction where the child had lived in Tennessee with his parents for the required six-month period before the proceeding began. (Powell v. Stover, 165 S.W.3d 322, 324–27 (Tex. 2005)).
What Did the Texas Supreme Court Decide in K.N.?
The Texas Supreme Court did not hold that Texas loses the authority to decide a custody case simply because a child is temporarily outside the state. Instead, the Court held that the parents’ argument about the specific emergency-jurisdiction rule was not enough to show that the Texas court had no authority to hear the case at all. Because the parents did not raise that argument in the trial court, they could not raise it for the first time on appeal. Tex. Fam. Code § 152.204(a).
For divorced parents, the practical point is significant. A move across state lines does not, by itself, determine which court should decide custody. The timing of the move, the child’s home state, existing custody orders, and the statutory basis for Texas jurisdiction can all affect the result. The UCCJEA is intended to provide that jurisdictional framework before competing courts reach the underlying custody dispute.
Call McClure Law Group for Your Child Custody Case
For Texas families dealing with a relocation, an interstate custody proceeding, or competing jurisdictional claims, McClure Law Group can evaluate the applicable UCCJEA provisions and the procedural posture of the case before a Texas court’s authority to proceed becomes disputed. Schedule a consultation with our child custody lawyers by calling (214) 692-8200.