Title 7 — Judiciary and Civil Procedure

This Act may be cited as the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

As used in this Act: (a) ‘Abandoned’ means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision. (b) ‘Child’ means an individual who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. (c) ‘Child-custody determination’ means a judgment, decree, or COL11192013 other or…

This Act does not govern an adoption proceeding or a proceeding pertaining to the authorization of emergency medical care for a child.

A child-custody proceeding that pertains to an Indian child as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq., is not subject to this Act to the extent that it is governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act.

(a) The Superior Court of Guam shall treat a foreign country as if it were a State of the United States for the purpose of applying Articles 1 and 2. (b) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (c), a child-custody determination made in a foreign country under factual circumst…

A child-custody determination made by a court of Guam that had jurisdiction under this Act binds all persons who have been served in accordance with the laws of Guam or notified in accordance with subsection 108 or who have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court, and who have…

If a question of existence or exercise of jurisdiction under this Act is raised in a child-custody proceeding, the question, upon request of a party, must be given priority on the calendar and handled expeditiously.

(a) Notice required for the exercise of jurisdiction when a person is outside Guam may be given in a manner prescribed by the laws of Guam for service of process or by the laws of the State in which the service is made. Notice must be given in a manner reasonably calculated to gi…

(a) A party to a child-custody proceeding, including a modification proceeding, or a petitioner or respondent in a proceeding to enforce or register a child-custody determination, is not subject to personal jurisdiction in Guam for another proceeding or purpose solely by reason o…

(a) A court of Guam may communicate with a court in another State concerning a proceeding arising under this Act. (b) The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. If the parties are not able to participate in the communication, they must be given the oppor…

(a) In addition to other procedures available to a party, a party to a child-custody proceeding may offer testimony of witnesses who are located in another State, including testimony of the parties and the child, by deposition or other means allowable in Guam for testimony taken …

(a) A court of Guam may request the appropriate court of another State to: (1) hold an evidentiary hearing; (2) order a person to produce or give evidence pursuant to procedures of that State; (3) order that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody of a child involved in…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 39204, the Superior Court of Guam has jurisdiction to make an initial child-custody determination only if: (1) Guam is the home State of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home State of the child wit…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 39204, a court of Guam which has made a child-custody determination consistent with sections COL11192013 39201 or 39203 has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination until: (1) a court of Guam determines that neither the…

Except as otherwise provided in section 39204, the Superior Court of Guam may not modify a child-custody determination made by a court of another State unless the Superior Court of Guam has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under section 39201(a)(1) or (2) and: (1) th…

(a) The Superior Court of Guam has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in Guam and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with …

(a) Before a child-custody determination is made under this Act, notice and an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the standards of § 108 must be given to all persons entitled to notice under the laws of Guam as in child-custody proceedings between residents of Guam, any p…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 39204, the Superior Court of Guam may not exercise its jurisdiction under this Article if, at the time of the commencement of the proceeding, a proceeding concerning the custody of the child has been commenced in a court of another Stat…

(a) The Superior Court of Guam may decline to exercise its jurisdiction at any time if it determines that it is an inconvenient forum under the circumstances and that a court of another State is a more appropriate forum. COL11192013 The issue of inconvenient forum may be raised u…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in § 39204 or by other laws of Guam, if the Superior Court of Guam has jurisdiction under this Act because a person seeking to invoke its jurisdiction has engaged in unjustifiable conduct, the court shall decline to exercise its jurisdiction unles…

(a) Subject to any existing law of Guam providing for the confidentiality of procedures, addresses, and other identifying information, in a child-custody proceeding, each party, in its first pleading or in an attached affidavit, shall give information, if reasonably ascertainable…

(a) In a child-custody proceeding in Guam, the court may order a party to the proceeding who is in Guam to appear before the court in person with or without the child. The court may order any person who is in Guam and who has physical custody or control of the child to appear in …

As used in this Article: (a) ‘Petitioner’ means a person who seeks enforcement of an order for return of a child under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or enforcement of a child-custody determination. (b) ‘Respondent’ means a person again…

Under this Article, the Superior Court of Guam may enforce an order for the return of the child made under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction as if it were a child-custody determination.

(a) The Superior Court of Guam shall recognize and enforce a child- custody determination of a court of another State if the latter court exercised jurisdiction in substantial conformity with this Act or the determination was made under factual circumstances meeting the jurisdict…

(a) A court of Guam which does not have jurisdiction to modify a child- custody determination, may issue a temporary order enforcing: (1) a visitation schedule made by a court of another State; or (2) the visitation provisions of a child-custody determination of another State tha…

(a) A child-custody determination issued by a court of another State may be registered in Guam, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to the Superior Court of Guam: (1) a letter or other document requesting registration; (2) two copies, including one …

(a) The Superior Court of Guam may grant any relief normally available under the laws of Guam to enforce a registered child-custody determination made by a court of another State. (b) The Superior Court of Guam shall recognize and enforce, but may not modify, except in accordance…

If a proceeding for enforcement under this Article is commenced in the Superior Court of Guam and the court determines that a proceeding to modify the determination is pending in a court of another State having jurisdiction to modify the determination under Article 2, the enforci…

(a) A petition under this Article must be verified. Certified copies of all orders sought to be enforced and of any order confirming registration must be attached to the petition. A copy of a certified copy of an order may be attached instead of the original. (b) A petition for e…

Except as otherwise provided in section 39311, the petition and order must be served, by any method authorized by the laws of Guam, upon respondent and any person who has physical custody of the child.

(a) Unless the court issues a temporary emergency order pursuant to § 39204, upon a finding that a petitioner is entitled to immediate physical custody of the child, the court shall order that the petitioner may take immediate physical custody of the child unless the respondent e…

(a) Upon the filing of a petition seeking enforcement of a child-custody determination, the petitioner may file a verified application for the issuance of a warrant to take physical custody of the child if the child is immediately likely to suffer serious physical harm or be remo…

(a) The court shall award the prevailing party, including a State, necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by or on behalf of the party, including costs, communication expenses, attorney's fees, investigative fees, expenses for witnesses, travel expenses, and child care during…

The Superior Court of Guam shall accord full faith and credit to an order issued by another State and consistent with this Act which enforces a child-custody determination by a court of another State unless the order has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisdi…

An appeal may be taken from a final order in a proceeding under this Article in accordance with expedited appellate procedures in other civil cases. Unless the court enters a temporary emergency order under section 39204, the enforcing court may not stay an order enforcing a chil…

(a) In a case arising under this Act or involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the prosecutor or other appropriate public official may take any lawful action, including resort to a proceeding under this Article or any other available…

At the request of a prosecutor or other appropriate public official acting under section 39315, a law enforcement officer may take any lawful action reasonably necessary to locate a child or a party and assist a prosecutor or appropriate public official with responsibilities unde…

If the respondent is not the prevailing party, the court may assess against the respondent all direct expenses and costs incurred by the prosecutor or other appropriate public official and law enforcement officers under section 39315 or 39316. ---------- COL11192013 ARTICLE 4 MIS…

In applying and construing this Uniform Act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among States that enact it.

If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of thi…

A motion or other request for relief made in a child-custody proceeding or to enforce a child-custody determination which was commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the motion or other request was made. ---------- COL11192013…