Q: How and when can I go about challenging jurisdiction in custody case?
I believe the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction when making an initial temporary custody decision. My ex did not live in Arizona for 5 months. Never visited. Never went back until the day before he filed the petition for custody. So doesn't that mean it would not have had subject matter jurisdiction because he was not present in Arizona for 90 days to establish residency and/or domicile? He however is lying and said he only left the state temporarily for work yet didn't start working until 3 months later after leaving AZ and quit in the other state and took my daughter and fled to AZ without my consent or knowledge. The court claimed home state jurisdiction. I don't believe that was true it should have been no State and because he left shouldn't even be able to make an initial decision on significant connection. I want to challenge this. My case is ongoing. And not going well.
A:
In Nebraska, if there isn't already a custody order in place, then you generally need to file the custody action in whatever state the child has been residing the last 6 months. This state where the child has been residing at least the last 6 months is generally referred to as the "home state." For emergency temporary orders, a court other than the home state can sometimes have jurisdiction to enter an emergency temporary order but the Court with home state jurisdiction is generally the only court that can enter a final custody order.
If you believe that the state that is currently handling the case does not have jurisdiction, you will likely want to start with contacting an attorney there for advice. They can best advice you whether you can likely get the case dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction. If that attorney advices you that there are grounds to dismiss the case, they may suggest to you to also get an attorney in the state where you believe there is jurisdiction.
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