Foster v. Wolkowitz

Michigan Supreme Court · Family Law

Family LawChild CustodyUCCJEAAcknowledgment of ParentageUCCJEAAcknowledgment of Parentage Actinitial child-custody determinationhome state

Facts

The parties are the unmarried biological parents of a child born in Michigan in October 2006, and they executed and filed an acknowledgment of parentage in Michigan in January 2007. In April 2007, they moved back to Illinois with the child and lived there together until May 2008, when the relationship ended and the mother returned to Michigan with the child. Five days later, the mother filed a paternity action in Michigan, and the father then filed a custody action in Illinois. The jurisdictional dispute centered on whether the acknowledgment of parentage's statutory grant of initial custody to the mother counted as an initial child-custody determination under the UCCJEA.

Issue

Does the statutory presumptive award of initial custody to the mother that arises when parents execute an acknowledgment of parentage under Michigan's Acknowledgment of Parentage Act qualify as an initial child-custody determination under the UCCJEA? If not, which state has authority to make the initial custody determination under the UCCJEA in this case?

Rule

An acknowledgment of parentage executed under the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act does not constitute an initial child-custody determination under the UCCJEA because it is not a judgment, decree, or other court order. For an initial child-custody determination, the UCCJEA provides the exclusive jurisdictional basis, and personal jurisdiction or party consent is neither necessary nor sufficient; the child's home state has authority unless it declines jurisdiction under the UCCJEA.

🔒

See the holding & full analysis

Create a free KwikCourt account to unlock the rest of this brief — and practice the case.

The court's holding and reasoning
Doctrine tests, pitfalls & exam hypotheticals
10 practice questions + 4 AI-graded essays on this case

Free sample · practice this case

Test yourself

One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

Jenna Morris and Caleb Reed, who were never married, signed and filed an acknowledgment of parentage in Michigan after their daughter was born in Detroit. The form stated that Jenna had initial custody, but no judge signed any custody order. Eight months later, after the family had lived in Ohio the entire time, Jenna filed a custody action in Michigan.

Under the majority rule, what is the strongest argument against Michigan's exercise of jurisdiction for the initial custody determination?

Explanation. The majority held that an acknowledgment of parentage does not qualify as an initial child-custody determination under the UCCJEA because it is not a judgment, decree, or other court order. It is filed with the state registrar, not entered by a court. Therefore, the UCCJEA's jurisdictional rules still govern the initial custody proceeding. (Derived from Foster v. Wolkowitz (n.d.).)