One of the more technical aspects of child custody law are jurisdictional issues. In Pennsylvania, jurisdiction, in child custody cases, is governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Under the UCCJEA, a trial court is vested with initial jurisdiction in a child custody matter where: “Pennsylvania is the home state of child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding or was the home state of the child within six months before the commencement of the proceeding and the child is absent from Pennsylvania but a parent or person acting as a parent continues to live in Pennsylvania …” After a trial court makes a child custody determination, it retains exclusive continuing jurisdiction over the matter until: “a court of this commonwealth determines that neither the child, nor the child and one parent, nor the child and a person acting as a parent have a significant connection with the commonwealth and that substantial evidence is no longer available in this commonwealth concerning the child’s care, protection, training and personal relationships; or a court of this commonwealth or a court of another state determines that the child, the child’s parents, and any person acting as a parent do not presently reside in this commonwealth.”

Jurisdiction attaches when the action is commenced in the state. Therefore, as long as the requirements for initial jurisdiction are met when the case is filed, the case will proceed in the state. Even if the parties and the child move out of state during the pendency of the case,