Father agreed, but failed, to return R.A.B. to Mother for Christmas in 1994. Mother forwarded the retainer agreement to Legal Services, but the agreement was never redirected to the attorney who failed to initiate representation of Mother. Mother was granted reasonable visitation and temporary custody. The attorney proceeded to take necessary steps to set aside the default judgment and filed her motion on September 16, 1999. The court denied Mother's motion to set aside the default judgment on October 15, 1999.
Mother raises three points on appeal.
She alleges that the trial court erred in granting its judgment because the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to enter a decree of paternity and initial custody. She also maintains that her motion to set aside the default judgment was improperly denied in that she showed good cause to set aside the judgment, and she had a meritorious defense. The relevant inquiry is whether the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to enter an initial custody decree. State ex rel. Therefore, Missouri courts should recognize and enforce the Indiana initial custody decree.