Jurisdiction to modify determination
A Missouri court cannot change a child custody decision made by another state's court unless Missouri qualifies to make a new custody decision in the first place. On top of that, one of two things must also be true: either the other state's court says it no longer has the power to handle the case or that Missouri is a better place for it, or a court finds that the child and all parents have moved away from that other state.
452.750. to . — Except as otherwise provided in section 452.755, a court of this state shall not modify a made by a court of another state unless a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an under (1) or (2) of 1 of section 452.740 and:
(1) The court of the other state it no longer has under section 452.745 or that a court of this state would be a more under section 452.770; or
(2) A court of this state or a court of the other state determines that neither the child, nor a parent, nor any person acting as a parent presently resides in the other state.
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Source & history notes
(L. 2009 H.B. 481)
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.