John A. Redding v. Myrtle v. Redding

Discussion of the application of G. L. c. 209B, the Massachusetts version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, to the exercise of jurisdiction by a State Judge in a child custody matter. [105] In circumstances where a husband residing in Massachusetts filed a complaint for divorce in a Massachusetts Probate Court in October, 1983, after his wife had moved to Georgia with their daughter, and in December, 1983, amended his complaint to seek joint legal custody of the daughter; where the wife in May, 1984, brought a custody action in a Georgia court; and where, after the Massachusetts and Georgia Judges consulted by telephone, the Georgia Judge declined to exercise jurisdiction over the initial custody issues, the Massachusetts court had jurisdiction pursuant to G. L. c. 209B, § 2 (a) 4, over the daughter's custody. [105-106]