Vermont § 1085 - Registration of child custody determination

§ 1085. Registration of child custody determination

• (a) A child custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered
  in Vermont, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to
  the Family Division of the Superior Court in the county in which a person listed in
  subdivision (3) of this subsection or the child resides: (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 section 1079 of this title, 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 section, the Family
  Division of the Superior Court shall: (1) send the certified copy of the determination to the Court Administrator who shall
  file it as a foreign judgment; and (2) serve notice upon the persons named pursuant to subdivision (a)(3) of this section
  and provide them with an opportunity to contest the registration in accordance with
  this section. (c) The notice required by subdivision (b)(2) of this section shall 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 Vermont court; (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
  before the court in the county in which such person or the child resides 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 subchapter 2 of this chapter; (2) the child custody determination sought to be registered has been vacated, stayed,
  or modified by a court having jurisdiction to do so under subchapter 2 of this chapter;
  or (3) the person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was not given
  in accordance with the standards of section 1066 of this title 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 shall 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. (Added 2011, No. 29, § 1; amended 2013, No. 67, § 2, eff. June 4, 2013.)