Custody

Jurisdiction is the authority of a court to decide who should have custody of a particular child. Typically, the Virgin Islands courts will have jurisdiction if the Virgin Islands is the child’s “home state,” meaning that the child has lived in the Virgin Islands with a parent for six months or longer before the case is filed.¹ This is true when the child is currently in the Virgin Islands, or if the child is currently away but the Virgin Islands was the child’s home state within the six months before the case was filed and a parent still lives in the Virgin Islands.² However, there could be exceptions to this six-month rule if, for example, the child has been in the Virgin Islands for less than 6 months and has been abandoned or is the victim or threatened victim of abuse or neglect.³

¹ 16 V.I.C. § 116(7)
² 16 V.I.C. § 127
³ 16 V.I.C. § 130