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Florida Statute 61.502 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 61.502 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Link to State of Florida Official Statute
F.S. 61.502 Case Law from Google Scholar Google Search for Amendments to 61.502

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Chapter 61
DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE; SUPPORT; TIME-SHARING
View Entire Chapter
61.502 Purposes of part; construction of provisions.—The general purposes of this part are to:
(1) Avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict with courts of other states in matters of child custody which have in the past resulted in the shifting of children from state to state with harmful effects on their well-being.
(2) Promote cooperation with the courts of other states to the end that a custody decree is rendered in the state that can best decide the case in the interest of the child.
(3) Discourage the use of the interstate system for continuing controversies over child custody.
(4) Deter abductions.
(5) Avoid relitigating the custody decisions of other states in this state.
(6) Facilitate the enforcement of custody decrees of other states.
(7) Promote and expand the exchange of information and other forms of mutual assistance between the courts of this state and those of other states concerned with the same child.
(8) Make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this part among the states enacting it.
History.—s. 5, ch. 2002-65.

F.S. 61.502 on Google Scholar

F.S. 61.502 on CourtListener

Amendments to 61.502


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 61.502

Total Results: 18  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Arjona v. Torres, 941 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006).

Cited 15 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 3019578

...h enjoys the superior position to decide what is in the best interest of the child; deter controversies and avoid relitigation of custody issues; facilitate enforcement of custody decrees; and promote uniformity of the laws governing custody issues. § 61.502, Fla....
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Hindle v. FUITH, 33 So. 3d 782 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010).

Cited 11 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 5347, 2010 WL 1626410

...on in granting custody to the mother. However, we reverse as to the child support and visitation costs. Subject matter jurisdiction over child custody matters is governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act ("UCCJEA"), sections 61.502 to 61.542, Florida Statutes (2003). [1] See Arjona v. Torres, 941 So.2d 451, 454 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006). One of the stated purposes of the UCCJEA is to "[a]void jurisdictional competition and conflict with courts of other states in matters of child custody." § 61.502(1), Fla....
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Karam v. Karam, 6 So. 3d 87 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 1795, 2009 WL 605401

...tisfies this standard, we grant the Wife's petition for writ of certiorari and quash the order. One of the stated purposes of the UCCJEA is to "[a]void jurisdictional competition and conflict with courts of other states in matters of child custody." § 61.502(1)....
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KI v. Dep't of Child. & Families, 70 So. 3d 749 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011).

Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 15738, 2011 WL 4578271

...Our decision is expressly governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act ("UCCJEA"), sections 61.501-.542, Florida Statutes (2010). The UCCJEA was enacted in part to "[a]void jurisdictional competition and conflict with courts of other states in matters of child custody...." § 61.502(1), Fla....
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M.A.C. v. M.D.H., 88 So. 3d 1050 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 8593, 2012 WL 1939742

jurisdiction over child custody matters. Id.; see also § 61.502 (stating the general purposes of the UC-CJEA)
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Staats v. McKinnon, 924 So. 2d 82 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 452824

...Initially, we note that both Florida and Tennessee have adopted the UCCJEA, which, among other things, was designed to "[p]romote cooperation with the courts of other states to the end that a custody decree is rendered in the state that can best decide the case in the interest of the child," section 61.502(2), Florida Statutes, and section 36-6-202(2), Tennessee Code Annotated, and to "[f]acilitate the enforcement of custody decrees of other states," section 61.502(6), Florida Statutes; section 36-6-202(6), Tennessee Code Annotated....
...dify. In the case at bar, the Florida trial court refused to stay or dismiss the proceeding before it. We conclude the lower court acted appropriately under the UCCJEA, by facilitating the enforcement of a custody decree in the state of Florida. See § 61.502(6), Fla....
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Schaffer v. Ling, 76 So. 3d 940 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 15379, 2011 WL 4467341

of other states in matters of child custody.” § 61.502(1), Fla. Stat. (2010). Under the UCCJEA, a “child
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Dyce v. Christie, 17 So. 3d 892 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 13747, 2009 WL 2949381

...er a child's best interest has been served by the foreign decree. Indeed, the very purpose of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act is to *894 avoid jurisdictional conflicts and relitigation of custody decisions of other states. § 61.502, Fla....
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Nadine Mcindoo v. Ashley Atkinson, 159 So. 3d 227 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2151, 2015 WL 671167

...t of the child; deter controversies and avoid relitigation of custody issues; facilitate enforcement of custody decrees; and promote uniformity of the laws governing custody issues.” Arjona v. Torres, 941 So. 2d 451, 454 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (citing § 61.502, Fla. Stat....
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Cassidy S. Miller v. Alex v. Mitchell (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

enforcement of another state’s custody decrees. See § 61.502, Fla. Stat. (2021); N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:34-53
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Burgos v. Sequeira, Vargas (Fla. 2d DCA 2024).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal

So. 3d 1257, 1259 (Fla. 1st DCA 2022) (quoting § 61.502(1)). Based upon the waivers and consents
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Anthony T. Litsch, III Vs Julie Litsch n/k/a Julie Mills (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2023).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

the law” with respect to subject of the UCCJEA. § 61.502, Fla. Stat. (2022).
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K.D. v. In Re: in the Interest of P.p., R.p., & L.P. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2022).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

enforcement of another state’s custody decisions. See § 61.502, Fla. Stat. In 2002, the Florida Legislature
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Makaros v. Cichocki, 159 So. 3d 957 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015).

Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 3584, 2015 WL 1071067

and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”), codified at section 61.502-61.542,' Florida Statutes (2013).2 An evidentiary
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N.B. v. Dep't of Child. of Families, 274 So. 3d 1163 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

Rptr. 3d 550, 555 (2013) (citation omitted); see § 61.502, Fla. Stat. (2018). Pursuant to the initial child
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N.B. v. Dep't of Child. of Families, 274 So. 3d 1163 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

Rptr. 3d 550, 555 (2013) (citation omitted); see § 61.502, Fla. Stat. (2018). Pursuant to the initial child
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Loring E. Just. v. Linn Marie Guerrero-Just. (Fla. 3d DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

other states concerned with the same child.” § 61.502(2), (7), Fla. Stat. In furtherance of this purpose
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Racquel Dorvil v. Jacarr Atwell (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal

promote cooperation with courts of other states. § 61.502(1), (2), Fla. Stat. (2024). Florida has adopted

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