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

Most of the Act’s jurisdiction rules open with an exception for this one. A Georgia court has temporary emergency jurisdiction when two things are true: the child is present in Georgia, and either the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, a sibling or a parent of the child is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse. “Abandoned,” under § 19-9-41, means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision. Georgia doesn’t need to be the home state.

How long the emergency order lasts depends on whether another state is already involved. If there is no earlier custody determination entitled to enforcement under the Act, and no custody case has been commenced in a state with jurisdiction under §§ 19-9-61 through 19-9-63, the Georgia order stays in effect until someone obtains an order from a court of such a state. If no such case is ever started, the emergency order becomes a final determination — but only if the order says so and Georgia becomes the child’s home state. Home state, under § 19-9-41, generally means at least six consecutive months living here with a parent or person acting as a parent immediately before a case is filed.

The rule is tighter when another state is already in the picture. If there is an earlier enforceable custody determination, or a custody case has been commenced in a state with jurisdiction, the Georgia order must specify a period the court considers adequate for the person seeking the order to obtain one from the state with jurisdiction. The Georgia order stays in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within that period, or until the period expires. The statute sets no fixed number of days; the judge chooses.

Subsection (d) requires judges to talk. A Georgia court asked to act in an emergency must immediately communicate with the other court once it learns that a custody case has been commenced, or a custody determination made, in a state with jurisdiction. And a Georgia court exercising regular jurisdiction that learns another state’s court has acted under a similar emergency statute must immediately communicate with that court to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and set how long the temporary order will last. Section 19-9-49 governs those conversations.