“Custody” can refer to decision-making authority, the child’s residence, or both. “Parenting time” and “visitation” describe time with a child. Equal time is not an automatic result, and one parent’s financial support obligation is not a fee for access to a child. Courts focus on the applicable child-welfare and best-interests standards, not an online promise that mothers, fathers, or higher earners always win.
NJ: Family Part procedures differ for an initial FD case, an existing FD order, and a divorce docket. Emergency applications require a showing meeting the court’s urgent-relief standards; ordinary disagreements do not automatically qualify. NJ Courts — Representing Yourself, NJ Courts — Initial FD application packet, NJ Courts — FD modification application packet. NY: Family Court can address custody and visitation; Supreme Court may address these issues in a divorce. Nonparent petitions and changes to existing orders have additional legal requirements. NY Courts — Family Issues and Divorce, NY Courts — Starting a Case in Family Court, NY Courts — Custody and Visitation. DC: Use Family Court’s current procedures and self-help services. DC’s UCCJEA statute governs initial interstate child-custody jurisdiction; the child’s “home state” often matters, and emergency jurisdiction is a separate inquiry. DC Courts — Family Court Self-Help Center, DC Code § 16-4602.01 — Initial child-custody jurisdiction.
For all three, tell the court about every other custody case and order. Six months of residence is an important concept in many interstate custody cases, but is not an automatic permission to move or a complete jurisdiction test. Existing continuing jurisdiction, younger children, temporary absences, and emergency facts can change the analysis.