A mother who allowed her twin toddlers to visit their father in Kentucky for six weeks while she was still establishing New York residency under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act may nonetheless initiate a child custody proceeding in Orange County, the Appellate Division, Second Department, has ruled.The unanimous panel deemed the children’s trip to Kentucky a “temporary absence” that did not interrupt the six-month pre-petition residency requirement.
The panel ruled that both the facts and public policy supported its finding in favor of the mother, who claimed she returned to her home state of New York in part to escape domestic violence.
