If a visitation order is in place, and the parents and child move out of Arizona but grandparents remain in Arizona, does Arizona retain jurisdiction?
No. This was the case in Greenbank v. Vanzant, 250 Ariz. 644 (App. 2021). In that case, the father was killed in a car accident, and his mother requested and was granted visitation. Unfortunately, the mother was determined to avoid the Court order at all costs. Days after the order came out, she, without informing the grandmother, moved the child to Canada and continued to defy the court order. Eventually, she filed to modify the order in Canada. The Court of AppealsThis is the Court that hears appeals and special actions from the decisions made by the superior court. A panel of three judges reviews each appeal and issues a ruling. The Arizona Supreme Court is the only state court higher than the Court of Appeals.Read more about Court of Appeals found that because Arizona’s jurisdictional statute states that Arizona only keeps JurisdictionThe authority of a Court to hear and decide a certain issue. Each court’s ability to hear cases are defined either by a Constitutional provision, or, more commonly, by an Act of Congress (for Federal courts) or the state legislature (for state courts).Read more about Jurisdiction so long as a parent or child remains in the state, Arizona lost jurisdiction over the ModificationAn action made to change a current court order. Modifications commonly involve parenting time, legal decision-making, child support, or spousal maintenance.Read more about Modification. But the Court of Appeals still had JurisdictionThe authority of a Court to hear and decide a certain issue. Each court’s ability to hear cases are defined either by a Constitutional provision, or, more commonly, by an Act of Congress (for Federal courts) or the state legislature (for state courts).Read more about Jurisdiction to hit the mother with attorney’s fees, which it gladly did.
