§ 580-402 Proceeding to determine parentage

If someone starts a case in another state to figure out who a child's legal parent is, New York courts can help handle that case here. This applies when the case follows rules similar to New York's own parentage laws.

In practice, this means a New York court can step in as the "responding" court when another state sends over a parentage case. The New York court can hear evidence, make decisions, and help establish who the legal parents are, even though the case technically started somewhere else. This keeps things simple for families who may live in different states, so they don't have to deal with confusing jurisdiction problems just to get a parentage question answered.