Elon Musk accused Grimes of moving with two of their children to California this year to avoid a custody battle playing out in Texas, according to court documents obtained by Insider.
Musk first sued Grimes in Texas in September to “establish the parent-child relationship” of the three children the couple shares. Weeks later, Grimes sued Musk in California seeking physical custody of the children. She told a Texas judge in October that Musk has custody of their three-year-old son, X Æ A-Xii, over her objection.
Family law experts have previously told Insider that the first battle in the case will likely be over which state has jurisdiction: California or Texas. The outcome of that fight could have far-reaching consequences for Musk, thanks to different child support caps in California and Texas.
Texas sets monthly child support payments at $2,760 for three children, which is how much Musk and Grimes share. However, California has no limit, meaning someone like Musk — the world’s richest man — could be ordered to pay a much higher amount.
On Monday, Musk filed an amended petition saying Texas is the proper jurisdiction for their custody battle because it was the children’s home state when he filed his initial petition.
The petition also said Grimes claimed to be a non-resident of Texas “in an apparent attempt to avoid the jurisdiction of this Court.” While many of the specific dates in the petition have been redacted, it says that at some point in 2023, Grimes moved to California with two of the children and never returned to Texas.
X, who is often pictured with Musk in public, stays with his father in Texas, the petition said.
Despite acknowledging that Grimes and two of the children are currently in California, the petition states that she and the three children have lived in Texas, primarily with Musk, for at least six consecutive months. , thus making it their home state.
However, in Grimes’ countersuit, she said that the three children had been living with her in California since December 31 of last year.
The date Grimes and the children moved to California could affect which state is considered their home state, and therefore where the case plays out.
Peter Walzer, a partner at Walzer Melcher who specializes in complex and high-value family law cases, noted that Musk’s petition mentions the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act – agreements between states that dictate. where custody and support cases must come into play.
States have different versions of these acts, but the UCCJEA in California and Texas states that the child’s home state is the one in which they have lived for six consecutive months of the custody process is still pending. Walzer said Musk and Grimes could spend months just to prove which state the children actually live in.
