Title 20, Title 20. Domestic Relations

A. 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. B. A court of this Commonwealth shall treat a tribe a…

A. A court of this Commonwealth shall treat a foreign country as if it were a state of the United States for purposes of applying this article and Article 2 (§ 20-146.12 et seq.) of this chapter. B. Except as otherwise provided in subsection C, a child custody determination made …

A child custody determination made by a court of this Commonwealth that had jurisdiction under this act binds all persons who have been served in accordance with the laws of this Commonwealth or notified in accordance with § 20-146.7 or who have submitted to the jurisdiction of t…

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 this Commonwealth may be given in a manner prescribed by the law of this Commonwealth for service of process or by the law of the state in which the service is attempted or made. Notice may also be by ce…

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 this Commonwealth for another proceeding or purpose solely …

A. Before finding and exercising jurisdiction, a court of this Commonwealth shall communicate with the court appearing to have jurisdiction in any other state concerning a proceeding arising under this act. B. The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. I…

A. Except as otherwise provided in § 20-146.15, a court of this Commonwealth has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination only if: 1. This Commonwealth is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home state of th…

A. Except as otherwise provided in § 20-146.15, a court of the Commonwealth that has made a child custody determination consistent with § 20-146.12 or 20-146.14 has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction as long as the child, a parent of the child, or any person acting as a parent of…

Except as otherwise provided in § 20-146.15, a court of the Commonwealth may not modify a child custody determination made by a court of another state unless a court of the Commonwealth has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under subdivision A 1 or A 2 of § 20-146.12 …

A. A court of this Commonwealth has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this Commonwealth and the child has been abandoned or if it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to mi…

A. Before a child's custody determination is made under this act, notice and an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the standards of § 20-146.7 must be given to all persons entitled to notice under the laws of this Commonwealth as in child custody proceedings between resid…

A. Except as otherwise provided in § 20-146.15, a court of this Commonwealth 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 previously commenced in a court of an…

A. A court of this Commonwealth that has jurisdiction under this act to make a child custody determination 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 ap…

A. Except as otherwise provided in § 20-146.15 or by other law of this Commonwealth, if a court of this Commonwealth 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 j…

A. In a child custody proceeding, each party, in its first pleading or in an attached affidavit, shall give information, if reasonably ascertainable, under oath as to the child's present address or whereabouts, the places where the child has lived during the past five years, and …

A. In a child custody proceeding in this Commonwealth, the court may order a party to the proceeding who is in this Commonwealth to appear before the court in person with or without the child. The court may order any person who is in this Commonwealth and who has physical custody…

In this article: "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. "Respondent" means a person against whom a procee…

Under this article a court of this Commonwealth may enforce an order for the return of the child made under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

A. A court of this Commonwealth 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 this Commonwealth that 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 st…

A. A child custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered in this Commonwealth, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to the appropriate juvenile and domestic relations district court in this Commonwealth: 1. A letter or ot…

A. A court of this Commonwealth may grant any relief normally available under the law of this Commonwealth to enforce a registered child custody determination made by a court of another state. B. A court of this Commonwealth shall recognize and enforce, but may not modify, except…

If a proceeding for enforcement under this article is commenced in a court of this Commonwealth 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 (§ 20-146.…

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 enf…

Except as otherwise provided in § 20-146.32, the petition and order shall be served, by any method authorized by the law of this Commonwealth, upon the respondent and any person who has physical custody of the child.

A. Unless the court issues a temporary emergency order pursuant to § 20-146.15, 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 responden…

A. Upon the filing of a petition seeking enforcement of a child custody determination, the petitioner may request in the petition that the court issue an ex parte order that the child be taken into immediate physical custody if the child is imminently likely to suffer serious phy…

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 …

A court of this Commonwealth shall accord full faith and credit to an order issued by another state and consistent with this act that enforces a child custody determination by a court of another state unless the order has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisd…

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 § 20-146.15, the enforcing court may not stay an order enforcing a child …

In applying and construing this act, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

A motion or other request for relief made in a child custody proceeding or to enforce a child custody determination that was commenced before July 1, 2001, is governed by the law in effect at the time the motion or other request was made.

A. The general purposes of this act are to: 1. Avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict with courts of other states in matters of child custody that have in the past resulted in the shifting of children from state to state with harmful effects on their well-being; 2. Promote…