Change Venue in Child Custody case by: FALDP Staff
Hi, In general, jurisdiction and venue in a family law case in which there are children involved, is in the county where the children reside. It sounds like the judge may have made an arbitrary ruling without hearing your reasons at all. My suggestion is that you refile the Motion for Change of Venue stating your new information/ facts and also that the proper venue is where the child resides. I'm not sure of the law on that as it is fuzzy within the state of Florida, but very clear when the dispute is state to state. Governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) when its between states.
FORUM NON CONVENIENS Forum non conveniens is Latin for "inconvenient forum."
Although there are rules which govern where a lawsuit must be filed, sometimes the location is inconvenient for the witnesses or parties. If a party makes an adequate showing of inconvenience, the principle of forum non conveniens allows a judge to decline to hear, or to tranfer, a case even though the court is an appropriate court for the case.
Forum Non Conveniens:
E.g., Vince and Claire's divorce case was decided in Miami, Florida, but both have since moved to Orlando. Any request for modification must first be filed in Miami, but either party could request that the court decline to hear the case, and instead, transfer it to Orlando for the hearing.
