International Divorce Success — Preserving U.S. Primary Residence for an Elementary-School Child

FAMILY LAW · SUCCESS STORY

Client Profile

The client was a woman in her forties residing in Northern New Jersey, holding dual U.S. and Korean citizenship, who served as the primary caregiver for her elementary-school-age child. Her spouse, a man in his forties, had been residing primarily in Korea for an extended period; while he maintained a relationship with the child, day-to-day parenting had been carried by the mother in New Jersey. Both parents had a history of moving between the two countries, which introduced complexity to the jurisdiction and primary-residence analysis.

Case Background

After several years of separation, the parents decided to end the marriage. They could not agree on the child's future residence and custody structure, so the New Jersey family court took up the custody determination alongside the divorce. The spouse in Korea preferred that the child continue schooling in Korea; the client concluded that continuity of the child's existing New Jersey school, medical care, and peer relationships was in the child's best interest.

Legal Issues

The first issue was jurisdiction. Under the UCCJEA (N.J.S.A. 2A:34-53 et seq.), the question was whether New Jersey was the child's home state. The second issue was the Best Interest analysis under N.J.S.A. 9:2-4, with particular focus on the continuity of schooling, medical care, and peer relationships, and on each parent's actual caregiving history. The third issue was the practical structuring of international parenting time, particularly extended stays in Korea over summer and winter school breaks.

Song Law Firm's Approach

Song Law Firm first built the UCCJEA jurisdictional record by compiling more than six months of the child's continuous New Jersey residency, along with school enrollment, medical records, primary-care visit history, and extracurricular participation. We then prepared a written submission that mapped the 14 Best Interest factors of N.J.S.A. 9:2-4 to specific evidence, particularly the child's school stability, medical continuity, sibling-free reliance on the mother, and established peer network. Throughout, our written work stayed fact-oriented and avoided disparaging characterizations of the other parent.

Process

From the initial consultation, the matter spanned roughly five months: establishing jurisdiction, obtaining a pendente lite parenting order, exchanging Case Information Statements, and pursuing narrowly scoped written discovery. We did not need to advance to a full Custody Evaluation. Once the parents agreed to prioritize the child's academic calendar, we shifted the remaining terms into mediation for resolution.

Result

The final order designated the mother as the Parent of Primary Residence and preserved the child's New Jersey primary residence. The father secured extended Korea-based parenting time covering most of summer break and part of winter break, with school-year video calls and select holiday visits reduced to writing. The order established joint legal custody as a baseline, with the primary residence parent holding tie-breaking authority on schooling and medical decisions to reduce future friction.

Lessons

In international divorce cases, early documentation of the factual predicates for the child's primary residence — school, medical care, peer relationships, and extracurriculars — is decisive. Advancing jurisdiction, custody, and parenting-time issues in parallel, and keeping written submissions fact-focused rather than adversarial, is central to earning the court's confidence. This outcome reflects a specific factual record and does not guarantee similar results in other matters. Please book an initial consultation to review your facts and jurisdictional posture before charting a course.