§ 19-9-84.Authority to enter temporary orders if lacking jurisdiction; remedy from court with jurisdiction; victims of family violence

Visitation disputes often can’t wait for a court in another state. This section lets a Georgia court help in the meantime, even if it lacks jurisdiction to modify the custody determination. It may issue a temporary order enforcing either of two things: a visitation schedule made by a court of another state, or the visitation provisions of another state’s custody determination that doesn’t set a specific schedule.

The second kind of order comes with a clock. When the out-of-state order gives visitation without a specific schedule — “reasonable visitation,” for example — the Georgia court shall specify a period it considers adequate for the petitioner to obtain an order from a court having jurisdiction under Part 2 of the Act, usually the court with exclusive, continuing jurisdiction under § 19-9-62. The temporary order lasts until an order is obtained from that court or the period expires. The statute sets no fixed number of days. For an order enforcing an existing schedule, the section sets no expiration period.

Subsection (c) addresses safety. If a court of Georgia or another state has found family violence by either parent, a Georgia court issuing a temporary visitation-enforcement order may enter any orders necessary to keep the child and any victim of family violence safe. Those include supervised visitation under § 19-9-7, which lists tools such as exchanges in a protected setting, supervision by another person or agency, and a bar on overnight visits. This section enforces; it doesn’t modify. A permanent change still requires jurisdiction under § 19-9-62 or § 19-9-63.