§ 14-13-305 — Registration of child-custody determination

Colorado § 14-13-305

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 14: Domestic
• Art.: Uniform Child-custody Jurisdiction

Text

(1) 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
appropriate district court in this state:

(a) A letter or other document requesting registration;

(b) 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

(c) Except as otherwise provided in section 14-13-209, the name and address
of the person seeking registration and any parent or person acting as a parent who
has been awarded custody, allocated parental responsibilities, or granted visitation
or parenting time in the child-custody determination sought to be registered.

(2) On receipt of the documents required by subsection (1) of this section, the
registering court shall:

(a) 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

(b) Serve notice upon the persons named pursuant to paragraph (c) of
subsection (1) of this section and provide them with an opportunity to contest the
registration in accordance with this section.

(3) The notice required by paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section
must state that:

(a) 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;

(b) A hearing to contest the validity of the registered determination must be
requested within twenty-one days after service of notice; and

(c) 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.

(4) A person seeking to contest the validity of a registered order must
request a hearing within twenty-one days after service of the notice. At that
hearing, the court shall confirm the registered order unless the person contesting
registration establishes that:

(a) The issuing court did not have jurisdiction under a provision of law
adopted by that state that is in substantial conformity with part 2 of this article;

(b) 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

(c) The person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was
not given in accordance with standards substantially in conformity with the
standards set forth in section 14-13-108, in the proceedings before the court that
issued the order for which registration is sought.

(5) 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.

(6) 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.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2000: Entire article R&RE, p. 1531, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2012: (3)(b) amended, (SB 12-175), ch. 208, p. 834, � 37, effective July 1. L. 2014: IP(4) amended, (HB 14-1347), ch. 208, p. 769, � 3, effective July 1.