Statutes: Maryland

In general

(a) A court of this State has temporary emergency jurisdiction if 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 mistreatment or abuse.

No previous child custody determination

(b)(1) If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this title and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 9.5-201 through 9.5-203 of this subtitle, 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 §§ 9.5-201 through 9.5-203 of this subtitle.

(2) If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 9.5-201 through 9.5-203 of this subtitle, a child custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination if the determination so provides and this State becomes the home state of the child.

Previous child custody determination

(c)(1) If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this title, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 9.5-201 through 9.5- 203 of this subtitle, any order issued by a court of this State under this section shall 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 §§ 9.5-201 through 9.5-203 of this subtitle.

(2) 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.

Communication with courts of other states

(d)(1) A court of this State that has been asked to make a child custody determination under this section, on 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 §§ 9.5-201 through 9.5-203 of this subtitle, shall immediately communicate with the other court.

(2) A court of this State that is exercising jurisdiction in accordance with §§ 9.5-201 through 9.5-203 of this subtitle, on 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.