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2018 Georgia Code 19-9-64 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 19-9-64 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 19-9-64

TITLE 19 DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Section 9. Child Custody Proceedings, 19-9-1 through 19-9-134.

ARTICLE 3 UNIFORM CHILD CUSTODY JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT

19-9-64. Temporary emergency jurisdiction; continuing effect; communicating with other courts.

  1. A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state 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 mistreatment or abuse.
  2. If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this article and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under Code Sections 19-9-61 through 19-9-63, a child custody determination made under this Code section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under Code Sections 19-9-61 through 19-9-63. If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under Code Sections 19-9-61 through 19-9-63, a child custody determination made under this Code section becomes a final determination, if it so provides and this state becomes the home state of the child.
  3. If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this article, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under Code Sections 19-9-61 and 19-9-63, any order issued by a court of this state under this Code section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction under Code Sections 19-9-61 through 19-9-63. The order issued in this state remains in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or the period expires.
  4. A court of this state which has been asked to make a child custody determination under this Code section, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction under Code Sections 19-9-61 through 19-9-63, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this state which is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to Code Sections 19-9-61 through 19-9-63, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this Code section, shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.

(Code 1981, §19-9-64, enacted by Ga. L. 2001, p. 129, § 1.)

Law reviews.

- For annual survey on domestic relations law, see 68 Mercer L. Rev. 107 (2016).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Custody can only be relitigated where legal custodian resides.

- Trial court erred by granting a parent's complaint for modification of child custody and support and changing custody, which was filed in that parent's county of residence, as that county was not the jurisdiction wherein the issue of custody and support was originally litigated and the opposing parent never waived the challenge to the jurisdiction of the trial court via a pro se letter, which merely acknowledged receipt of the complaint; as a result, the judgment granting the change of custody was reversed and the case was remanded to the trial court with directions for the trial court to transfer the case to the trial court of the proper county. Hatch v. Hatch, 287 Ga. App. 832, 652 S.E.2d 874 (2007).

Temporary emergency jurisdiction properly asserted.

- Trial court had temporary emergency jurisdiction in a child custody case because the children were visiting the father in Walker County, which was the location of the trial court, when the order was issued, and the trial court found that the children had been subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse; these were the only two requirements for temporary emergency jurisdiction under O.C.G.A. § 19-9-64. Taylor v. Curl, 298 Ga. App. 45, 679 S.E.2d 80 (2009).

Temporary emergency jurisdiction improperly asserted.

- Trial court erred by exercising temporary emergency jurisdiction after the child's mother died since the circumstances and well-being of the child, who was in the physical custody of the child's uncle and in no immediate danger, did not demand immediate action. Prabnarong v. Oudomhack, 334 Ga. App. 723, 780 S.E.2d 393 (2015).

Jurisdiction declined.

- When a father made threatening telephone calls from another state to a mother and to their child, a trial court could properly decline to exercise jurisdiction under O.C.G.A. § 19-9-64(a) of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, O.C.G.A. § 19-9-40 et seq., and under the similar jurisdictional provisions of the Parental Kidnapping and Prevention Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1738A, because the child was in no immediate danger as the child continued to be in the mother's custody so there was no true emergency requiring a Georgia court to exercise jurisdiction for the child's protection. Anderson v. Deas, 273 Ga. App. 770, 615 S.E.2d 859 (2005).

In a child custody case between parents who had been living in Michigan but were visiting the wife's parents in Georgia for Thanksgiving, even if there was no basis for emergency jurisdiction under O.C.G.A. § 19-9-64, given that no other state had a pending custody petition before it, the trial court properly considered whether the court had jurisdiction under O.C.G.A. § 19-9-61. Bowman v. Bowman, Ga. App. , S.E.2d (Mar. 6, 2018).

Cited in Baca v. Baca, 256 Ga. App. 514, 568 S.E.2d 746 (2002); Delgado v. Combs, 314 Ga. App. 419, 724 S.E.2d 436 (2012); Black v. Black, 292 Ga. 691, 740 S.E.2d 613 (2013).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Construction and application of uniform child custody jurisdiction and enforcement act's temporary emergency jurisdiction provision, 53 A.L.R.6th 419.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 19-9-64

Total Results: 7  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Gainey v. Olivo, 373 S.E.2d 4 (Ga. 1988).

Cited 29 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 20, 1988 | 258 Ga. 640, 78 A.L.R. 4th 1021

...All the Justices concur, except Smith, J., who dissents. Weltner, J., disqualified. Case No. 45311. Judgment affirmed on other grounds. All the Justices concur, except Smith, J., who dissents. Weltner, J., disqualified. NOTES [1] OCGA § 19-9-40 to § 19-9-64....
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Bellew v. Larese, 706 S.E.2d 78 (Ga. 2011).

Cited 20 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 7, 2011 | 288 Ga. 495, 2011 Fulton County D. Rep. 202

...specific reference to applicable law regarding child custody. [5] On February 3, 2010, the trial court clarified its order to indicate that the case was dismissed as to all issues. [6] OCGA § 19-9-61 reads: (a) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-9-64, a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination only if: (1) This state is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home state of the child within...
...urt of this state. (c) Physical presence of, or personal jurisdiction over, a party or a child is not necessary or sufficient to make a child custody determination. [7] In its entirety, OCGA § 19-9-66 reads: (a) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-9-64, a court of this state may not exercise its jurisdiction under this part 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 state having jur...
...lly in conformity with this article; unless the proceeding has been terminated or is stayed by the court of the other state because a court of this state is a more convenient forum under Code Section 19-9-67. (b) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-9-64, a court of this state, before hearing a child custody proceeding, shall examine the court documents and other information supplied by the parties pursuant to Code Section 19-9-69....
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Black v. Black, 292 Ga. 691 (Ga. 2013).

Cited 15 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 25, 2013 | 740 S.E.2d 613, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 739

...ell v. Campbell, 231 Ga. 214, 215 (1) (200 SE2d 899) (1973) (citation and punctuation omitted). The general rule notwithstanding, a Georgia court may exercise jurisdiction to decide child custody in certain emergency circumstances pursuant to OCGA § 19-9-64, and a Georgia court may exercise jurisdiction to decide child custody if the foreign court in which proceedings previously were commenced decides that Georgia is the more convenient forum....
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Plummer v. Plummer, 823 S.E.2d 258 (Ga. 2019).

Cited 11 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jan 22, 2019 | 305 Ga. 23

...predecessor, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act ("UCCJA").3 The provision at issue here is OCGA § 19-9-62, which is materially identical to UCCJEA § 202. OCGA § 19-9-62 provides in relevant part: (a) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-9-64, a court of this state which has made a child custody determination consistent with Code Section 19-9-61 or 19-9-63 has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination until ......
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Jackson v. Sanomi, 292 Ga. 888 (Ga. 2013).

Cited 6 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | May 6, 2013 | 742 S.E.2d 717, 2013 Fulton County D. Rep. 1458

...533 (724 SE2d 837) (2012) (modification of foreign child custody order proper) with Delgado v. Combs, 314 Ga. App. 419 (724 SE2d 436) (2012) (court lacked jurisdiction to modify foreign child custody order). It cannot be said that the superior court was empowered to exercise temporary emergency jurisdiction. OCGA § 19-9-64 (a) authorizes temporary emergency jurisdiction only “if the child is present in this state 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...
...See Rozier v. Berto, 230 Ga. App. 427 (496 SE2d 544) (1998) (state other than home state can exercise jurisdiction under emergency exception only where circumstances and well-being of child demand immediate action) (decided under predecessor to OCGA § 19-9-64). Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur. Wilson, Morton & Downs, Fred L....
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Markle v. Dass, 300 Ga. 702 (Ga. 2017).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 6, 2017 | 797 S.E.2d 868

...Although Markle has not been adjudicated the father of the child, Dass refers to him as such in her brief in this Court. The order below refers to him as “the putative father.” OCGA § 19-9-61 reads: (a) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-9-64, a court of this state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination only if: *703(1) This state is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home state of the child wi...
...The UCCJEA also provides for jurisdiction in a Georgia court should the New Mexico court make any such determination. See OCGA § 19-9-61 (a) (2). Although Dass contends in this Court that the superior court was empowered to exercise *707temporary emergency jurisdiction under OCGA § 19-9-64 (a), under these circumstances, [i]t cannot be said that the superior court was empowered to exercise temporary emergency jurisdiction. OCGA § 19-9-64 (a) authorizes temporary emergency jurisdiction only “if the child is present in this state 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 mistreatment or abuse.” Jackson v. Sanomi, 292 Ga. 888, 890 (742 SE2d 717) (2013). The superior court’s order does not rely upon OCGA § 19-9-64 (a); it made no finding that would support such reliance; and it did not issue a temporary order under the provisions of OCGA § 19-9-64 (b), (c), or (d)....

Plummer v. Plummer (Ga. 2019).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jan 22, 2019 | 797 S.E.2d 868

...UCCJEA to replace its predecessor, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (“UCCJA”).3 The provision at issue here is OCGA § 19-9-62, which is materially identical to UCCJEA § 202. OCGA § 19-9-62 provides in relevant part: (a) Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 19-9-64, a court of this state which has made a child custody determination consistent with Code Section 19-9-61 or 19-9-63 has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination until ....