In re Dean

Motivated in part to prioritize “home state jurisdiction” in child custody proceedings, Texas adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. See Powell v. Stover, 165 S.W.3d 322 (Tex.2005). Forty-eight other states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands have done the same.1

The Act encourages national uniformity in child custody disputes and addresses the increasing mobility of American families. See Powell, 165 S.W.3d at 326. Previously, state courts modified custody determinations each time a child moved from one state to another, and those…