§ 598B.305 — Registration of child-custody determination

Iowa § 598B.305

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title XV: JUDICIAL BRANCH AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURES
• Ch. 598B: UNIFORM CHILD-CUSTODY JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT

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 district
court in this state all of the following:
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.
c. Except as otherwise provided in section 598B.209, 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.
2. On receipt of the documents required by subsection 1, the registering court shall do all
of the following:
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.
b. Serve notice upon the persons named pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph “c”, and
provide them with an opportunity to contest the registration in accordance with this section.
3. The notice required by subsection 2, paragraph “b”, must state all of the following:
a. That 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. That a hearing to contest the validity of the registered determination must be requested
within twenty days after service of notice.
c. That 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 days after service of the notice. At that hearing, the court shall confirm the
registered order unless the person contesting registration establishes any of the following:
a. That the issuing court did not have jurisdiction under article II.
b. That the child-custody determination sought to be registered has been vacated, stayed,
or modified by a court having jurisdiction to do so under article II.
c. That the person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was not given
in accordance with the standards of section 598B.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.