Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 20-5-307 (2026)

Inconvenient forum.

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WY-LEGwyoleg.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
(a) A court of this state which 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 appropriate forum. The issue
of inconvenient forum may be raised upon motion of a party, the
court's own motion, or request of another court.

     (b) Before determining whether it is an inconvenient
forum, a court of this state shall consider whether it is
appropriate for a court of another state to exercise
jurisdiction. For this purpose, the court shall allow the
parties to submit information and shall consider all relevant
factors, including:

          (i) Whether domestic violence has occurred and is
likely to continue in the future and which state could best
protect the parties and the child;

          (ii)    The length of time the child has resided outside
this state;

          (iii) The distance between the court in this state
and the court in the state that would assume jurisdiction;

           (iv)   The relative financial circumstances of the
parties;

          (v) Any agreement of the parties as to which state
should assume jurisdiction;

          (vi) The nature and location of the evidence required
to resolve the pending litigation, including testimony of the
child;
          (vii) The ability of the court of each state to
decide the issue expeditiously and the procedures necessary to
present the evidence; and

          (viii) The familiarity of the court of each state
with the facts and issues in the pending litigation.

     (c) If a court of this state determines that it is an
inconvenient forum and that a court of another state is a more
appropriate forum, it shall stay the proceedings upon condition
that a child custody proceeding be promptly commenced in another
designated state and may impose any other condition the court
considers just and proper.

     (d) A court of this state may decline to exercise its
jurisdiction under this act if a child custody determination is
incidental to an action for divorce or another proceeding while
still retaining jurisdiction over the divorce or other
proceeding.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2007–2022 · leading case: Prickett v. Prickett, 2007 WY 153 (Wyo. 2007).
Prickett v. Prickett, 2007 WY 153 (Wyo. 2007). · cites it 10× “Alternatively, she contends that the district court abused its discretion in failing to decline jurisdiction pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 20-5-307 because Nebraska courts provide the most convenient forum.”
Ekaterina Nicholaevna Pokrovskaya, a/k/a Yekaterina Pokrovskaia v. Eric Van Genderen Sr., 2021 WY 68 (Wyo. 2021). · cites it 15× “It concluded no stay was required because a modification action was pending in Bahrain.”
Brett L. Ruiz v. Phoenix A. Fribourg, 2022 WY 157 (Wyo. 2022). · cites it 19× “Under Wyoming Statute § 20-5- 302(a), a district court that made the initial child custody determination maintains exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over that case until the following conditions occur: (i) A court of this state determines that the child, the child’s parents and…”
Waldron v. Waldron, 349 P.3d 974 (Wyo. 2015). · cites it 4× “Before making that decision, a Wyoming court is required to "allow the parties to submit information," after which it must consider all "relevant factors," including those identified by the statute.”
Saunders v. Saunders, 445 P.3d 991 (Wyo. 2019). · cites it 2× “Section 20-5-307. The court may, however, retain jurisdiction over "the divorce or other proceedings.”
Boyd Van Fleet v. Marceline A. Guyette, 2020 WY 78 (Wyo. 2020). “§ 20-5-307 (b), were considered and conscientiously weighed after applying all relevant, admissible, and credible information made available to the Court by the parties.”
Symington v. Symington, 167 P.3d 658 (Wyo. 2007). · cites it 4× “Mother incorporated her prior claim that Idaho was the better forum, and additionally asserted that the need to appoint a new GAL made it an appropriate time to transfer the case to Idaho.”
— Wyo. Stat. § 20-5-307(a) — 2 cases
Waldron v. Waldron, 349 P.3d 974 (Wyo. 2015). “Before making that decision, a Wyoming court is required to "allow the parties to submit information," after which it must consider all "relevant factors," including those identified by the statute.”
Brett L. Ruiz v. Phoenix A. Fribourg, 2022 WY 157 (Wyo. 2022). “Under Wyoming Statute § 20-5- 302(a), a district court that made the initial child custody determination maintains exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over that case until the following conditions occur: (i) A court of this state determines that the child, the child’s parents and…”
— Wyo. Stat. § 20-5-307(b) — 1 case
Brett L. Ruiz v. Phoenix A. Fribourg, 2022 WY 157 (Wyo. 2022). “Under Wyoming Statute § 20-5- 302(a), a district court that made the initial child custody determination maintains exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over that case until the following conditions occur: (i) A court of this state determines that the child, the child’s parents and…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.