Title 19, Chapter 9, Section 85
( 19-9-85)
(a) A child custody determination issued by a court of another state
may be registered in this state, with or without a simultaneous
request for enforcement, by sending to the superior court in the
appropriate venue in this state: (1) A letter or other document requesting registration; (2) Two copies, including one certified copy, of the determination
sought to be registered, and a statement under penalty of perjury
that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person seeking
registration the order has not been modified; and (3) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-9-69, the name and address of the person seeking registration and any parent or person acting as a parent who has been awarded custody or visitation in the child custody determination sought to be registered. (b) On receipt of the documents required by subsection (a) of this
Code section, the registering court shall: (1) Cause the determination to be filed as a foreign judgment,
together with one copy of any accompanying documents and
information, regardless of their form; and (2) Serve notice upon the persons named pursuant to paragraph (3)
of subsection (a) of this Code section and provide them with an
opportunity to contest the registration in accordance with this
Code section. (c) The notice required by paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of this
Code section must state that: (1) A registered determination is enforceable as of the date of
the registration in the same manner as a determination issued by a
court of this state; (2) A hearing to contest the validity of the registered
determination must be requested within 20 days after service of
notice; and (3) Failure to contest the registration will result in
confirmation of the child custody determination and preclude
further contest of that determination with respect to any matter
that could have been asserted. (d) A person seeking to contest the validity of a registered order
must request a hearing within 20 days after service of the notice.
At that hearing, the court shall confirm the registered order unless
the person contesting registration establishes that: (1) The issuing court did not have jurisdiction under Part 2 of
this article; (2) The child custody determination sought to be registered has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisdiction to do so under Part 2 of this article; or (3) The person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was not given in accordance with the standards of Code Section 19-9-47 in the proceedings before the court that issued the order for which registration is sought. (e) If a timely request for a hearing to contest the validity of the
registration is not made, the registration is confirmed as a matter
of law, and the person requesting registration and all persons
served must be notified of the confirmation. (f) Confirmation of a registered order, whether by operation of law
or after notice and hearing, precludes further contest of the order
with respect to any matter that could have been asserted at the time
of registration. |