1998 Minnesota Statutes

     518A.02 Definitions. 

    As used in sections 518A.01 to 518A.25: 

    (a) "Contestant" means a person, including a parent, who 
 claims a right to custody or visitation rights with respect to a 
 child. 

    (b) "Custody determination" means a court decision and 
 court orders and instructions providing for the custody of a 
 child, including visitation rights, but does not include a 
 decision relating to child support or any other monetary 
 obligation of any person. 

    (c) "Custody proceeding" includes proceedings in which a 
 custody determination is one of several issues, such as an 
 action for dissolution, divorce or separation, and includes 
 child neglect and dependency proceedings. 

    (d) "Decree" or "custody decree" means a custody 
 determination contained in a judicial decree or order made in a 
 custody proceeding, and includes an initial decree and a 
 modification decree. 

    (e) "Home state" means the state in which the child 
 immediately preceding the time involved lived with the child's 
 parents, a parent, or a person acting as parent, for at least 
 six consecutive months, and in the case of a child less than six 
 months old the state in which the child lived from birth with 
 any of the persons listed.  Periods of temporary absence of any 
 of the named persons are counted as part of the six month or 
 other period. 

    (f) "Initial decree" means the first custody decree 
 concerning a particular child. 

    (g) "Modification decree" means a custody decree which 
 modifies or replaces a prior decree, whether made by the court 
 which rendered the prior decree or by another court. 

    (h) "Physical custody" means actual possession and control 
 of a child. 

    (i) "Person acting as parent" means a person, other than a 
 parent, who has physical custody of a child and who has either 
 been awarded custody by a court or claims a right to custody. 

    (j) "State" means any state, territory, or possession of 
 the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the 
 District of Columbia. 

    HIST: 1977 c 8 s 2; 1986 c 444