Jayda Roman v. Cleveland Karren

Summary

The court held that Alaska had UCCJEA jurisdiction because the child’s home state was Alaska when the custody proceeding commenced, and the continuing divorce proceeding was not transformed into a new proceeding when earlier custody orders were vacated. The superior court also acted within its discretion in retaining Alaska as the forum after weighing the statutory inconvenient-forum factors. Finally, the court upheld the custody award because the superior court properly evaluated the custody investigator’s testimony and the statutory best-interests factors, particularly the need to preserve the child’s relationship with both parents.