Alabama revises finality of emergency custody determinations

Alabama Act 2026-237 changes when a child-custody determination made under the state's temporary emergency jurisdiction provision becomes final. The act amends Alabama Code section 30-3B-204 and states an October 1, 2026 effective date.

Subsection (b) addresses a situation in which no previous child-custody determination is entitled to enforcement under the chapter and no proceeding has been commenced in a state with jurisdiction under sections 30-3B-201 through 30-3B-203. It retains the rule that the emergency determination remains effective until an order is obtained from a court of a state with that jurisdiction.

The added sentence provides that, if six months after entry of the determination no child-custody proceeding has been commenced in a state with jurisdiction under those sections, the determination becomes final. The act strikes the prior sentence that made finality dependent on the determination so providing and Alabama becoming the child's home state, alongside the absence of such a proceeding.

The statute also addresses a different situation in which an enforceable prior determination exists or a proceeding has already begun in a state with jurisdiction. In that situation subsection (c) requires the Alabama order to specify a period adequate to obtain an order from the other state. Subsection (d) addresses communication between courts. The amendment should be read with those provisions and the jurisdictional facts of the individual case.