Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 61.517 (2025)

Temporary emergency jurisdiction.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

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61.517 Temporary emergency jurisdiction.—

(1) A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and:

(a) The child has been abandoned;

(b) It is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse; or

(c) It is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child has been subjected to or is threatened with being subjected to sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures, as defined in s. 456.001.

(2) If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this part, and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under ss. 61.514-61.516, a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under ss. 61.514-61.516. If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under ss. 61.514-61.516, a child custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination if it so provides and this state becomes the home state of the child.

(3) If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this part, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under ss. 61.514-61.516, any order issued by a court of this state under this section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction under ss. 61.514-61.516. The order issued in this state remains in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or the period expires.

(4) A court of this state which has been asked to make a child custody determination under this section, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction under ss. 61.514-61.516, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this state which is exercising jurisdiction under ss. 61.514-61.516, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this section shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.

History.—s. 5, ch. 2002-65; s. 7, ch. 2003-1; s. 1, ch. 2023-90.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 27 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 2003–2026 · leading case: Steckler v. Steckler, 921 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006).

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Steckler v. Steckler, 921 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). · cites it 13× “§ 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2005); N.D. Cent.Code § 14-14.”

Homer Mcabee, III v. Alicia Marie Mcabee, 259 So. 3d 134 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018). · cites it 11× “1 Section 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2017). Background A full recitation of the facts is necessary to demonstrate the purpose of the UCCJEA and why its communication requirement is vital.”

KI v. Dep't of Child. & Families, 70 So. 3d 749 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). · cites it 10× “See § 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2010); Va.Code Ann.”

Baker v. Tunney, 201 So. 3d 1235 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). · cites it 4× “See § 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2015); N.Y. Dom. Rel.”

Staats v. McKinnon, 206 S.W.3d 532 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006). “§ 36-6-219; accord Fla. Stat. Ann. § 61.517 ; UCCJEA § 204, 9 U.”

N.W.T. v. L.H.D., 955 So. 2d 1236 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). · cites it 5× “514, Florida had jurisdiction under section 61.517, which provides for the exercise of temporary emergency jurisdiction.”

Haugabook v. Jeffcoat-Hultberg, 219 So. 3d 65 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). · cites it 3× “The temporary emergency jurisdiction is applicable where “the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child," or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with…”

Arjona v. Torres, 941 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006). “Arjona filed a "Verified Emergency Motion for Temporary Custody by Special Appearance," seeking the circuit court's "intervention pursuant to Fla. Stat. 61.517." In this motion, he asserted that the children, who have resided with his wife in Miami-Dade County since 2002, were…”

Earney v. Quiloan, 206 So. 3d 147 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). · cites it 6× “See § 61.517(1), Fla. Stat. However, the statute also requires the following: .”

Edgar v. Firuta, 100 So. 3d 255 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). · cites it 2× “North Carolina’s counterpart to section 61.517, Florida Statutes (2011), “Temporary emergency jurisdiction,” conforms to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) in all pertinent respects.”

Hirvonen v. Filsinger, 866 So. 2d 1273 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004). · cites it 2× “Even if we assume that the entry of the dissolution judgment did terminate the Florida proceedings regarding custody, section 61.517 of the UCCJEA gives a Florida court “temporary emergency jurisdiction” over child custody for a number of different reasons, including the…”

Youssef v. Zaitouni ex rel. R.Y., 241 So. 3d 901 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018). “" § 61.517(1). This section is inapposite; this is not a custody dispute, and the Act does not establish an independent basis for the *903 trial court to exercise personal jurisdiction over Youssef.”

Show all 27 citing cases →

— 61.517(1) — 14 cases

Steckler v. Steckler, 921 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). “§ 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2005); N.D. Cent.Code § 14-14.”

Haugabook v. Jeffcoat-Hultberg, 219 So. 3d 65 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016). “The temporary emergency jurisdiction is applicable where “the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child," or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with…”

Homer Mcabee, III v. Alicia Marie Mcabee, 259 So. 3d 134 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018). “1 Section 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2017). Background A full recitation of the facts is necessary to demonstrate the purpose of the UCCJEA and why its communication requirement is vital.”

KI v. Dep't of Child. & Families, 70 So. 3d 749 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). “See § 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2010); Va.Code Ann.”

— 61.517(1)(a) — 1 case

Kimberly S. Lopez & Peter J. Allsot v. Naseem Latif (Fla. 5th DCA 2026).

— 61.517(2) — 5 cases

N.W.T. v. L.H.D., 955 So. 2d 1236 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007). “514, Florida had jurisdiction under section 61.517, which provides for the exercise of temporary emergency jurisdiction.”

N.B. v. Dep't of Child. of Families, 274 So. 3d 1163 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019).

K.D. v. In Re: in the Interest of P.p., R.p., & L.P. (Fla. 3d DCA 2022).

In Re Dnhw, 955 So. 2d 1236 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

— 61.517(4) — 6 cases

Steckler v. Steckler, 921 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). “§ 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2005); N.D. Cent.Code § 14-14.”

KI v. Dep't of Child. & Families, 70 So. 3d 749 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). “See § 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2010); Va.Code Ann.”

Baker v. Tunney, 201 So. 3d 1235 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). “See § 61.517, Fla. Stat. (2015); N.Y. Dom. Rel.”

Earney v. Quiloan, 206 So. 3d 147 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). “See § 61.517(1), Fla. Stat. However, the statute also requires the following: .”

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