State and Local Courts and Laws

Every state and county has it’s own rules about long distance parenting. Where you are located can affect how you bring your case to court and what you can expect. This is a collection of state and local courts and laws, specific to long distance parenting.

General State Court Information

• The Library of Congress offers this list of state law resources with is quite the comprehensive list of state and local laws online. It is not specific to family law, necessarily and instead focuses on bringing together official state and local law related websites
• internetvisitation.org is a site dedicated to news and legislation related to internet visitation.
• Court Locator – a court locator for the entire United States

US States

Alabama	Alaska	Arizona	Arkansas	California
Colorado	Connecticut	Delaware	Florida	Georgia
Hawaii	Idaho	Illinois	Indiana	Iowa
Kansas	Kentucky	Louisiana	Maine	Maryland
Massachusetts	Michigan	Minnesota	Mississippi	Missouri
Montana	Nebraska	Nevada	New Hampshire	New Jersey
New Mexico	New York	North Carolina	North Dakota	Ohio
Oklahoma	Oregon	Pennsylvania	Rhode Island	South Carolina
South Dakota	Tennessee	Texas	Utah	Vermont
Virginia	Washington	West Virginia	Wisconsin	Wyoming

Arizona

• 25-411. Modification of legal decision-making or parenting time; affidavit; contents; military families

Arkansas

• 9-13-110 – Parents who are members of the armed forces

California

• Custody and Visitation for Service Members
• California Family Court Online Self Help
• Impact of Economy on Parenting & Parent-Child Contact from the Beyond the Bench XXI Conference, December 15, 2011, Provided by Susan Finch, Family Court Services Specialist Superior Court of Los Angeles County and Hon. James M. Mize, Judge Superior Court of Sacramento County is an interesting read, including some of the tips from this website.
• Move-Away Situations comes to us from the California State Judicial Branch

Colorado

• Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act
• Colorado Courts Online Self Help Section

Connecticut

• Connecticut Family Court FAQ
• Sec. 46b-56e. Orders of custody or visitation re children of deploying parent.

Delaware

• Delaware Family Court

Florida

• Temporary time-sharing modification and child support modification due to military service
• Florida law around electronic visitation
• Instructions for Long Distance Parenting Plans : 12th circuit court
• INSTRUCTIONS FOR FLORIDA SUPREME COURT APPROVED FAMILY LAW
  FORM 12.995(a),PARENTING PLAN (02/18) is a form outlining the parenting plan rules in the State of Florida
• INSTRUCTIONS FOR FLORIDA SUPREME COURT APPROVED FAMILY
  LAW FORM 12.950(d)SUPPLEMENTAL PETITION TO PERMIT RELOCATION WITH MINOR OR DEPENDENT CHILD(REN) is a form outlining the rules for relocation in Florida
• Florida Family Court Forms
• The 6th Circuit court then modified that plan to create their own for Pasco and Pinellas Counties.
• Tips for long distance parenting from the Bannock County Idaho Prosecutor and the 6th District Court.

Hawaii

• Military Deployment Provisions

Idaho

• 32-720(1) Service Members

Indiana

• Indiana law – Section I.A.5. and Appendix.7

Iowa

• 598.41C MODIFICATION OF CHILD CUSTODY OR PHYSICAL CARE — ACTIVE DUTY

Missouri

• Clay County Missouri 7th circuit court has a whole section on virtual visitation including the following :Virtual Visitation Handbook

North Carolina

• North Carolina 50-13.2. – describes electronic communication.

Ohio

• Planning for Parenting Time: Ohio’s Guide for Parents Living Apart
• Schedule B Long Distance Parenting Time Guidelines : For distances over 150 Miles, Fulton County
• Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities Long Distance Parenting Schedule – Lucas County
• APPENDIX F Long Distance Parenting Schedule – Effective January 1, 2016, For parents who live more than 150 miles apart, Hancock County

Oregon

• Medium/Long Distance Parenting Plan Instructions from the State of Oregon Circuit Court
• Long Distance Parenting Plan Template
• 6th Judicial district long distance parenting plan template : for parents living over 225 miles apart, via private law firm
• LONG-DISTANCE PARENTING PLANS:NUTS, BOLTS & CAVEATS – Oregon State Bar Family Law Section Annual Conference, October 2013 – contains a good summary of Oregon state law and a study of case law and theory. Also includes, beginning on page 14, a sample parenting plan

Tennessee

• Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family – paperback book, 5 star reviews

Texas

• Texas internet visitation legislation (Sec. 153.015.)

Utah

• Utah Model Parenting Plans for Parent/Child Access – this is for Utah and contains a section on long distance parenting plans. Although the language is crafted for Utah, it gives the ‘why’ for each sample language blurb so they could be adjusted easily.
• Title 30 Chapter 3 Section 33 (14) – allows virtual visitation.
• Virtual Parents: How Virtual Visitation Legislation Is Shaping the Future of Custody Law – University of Utah paper citing many potentially useful sources.

Wisconsin

• Wisconsin’s law on electronic communication in child custody cases.

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