§ 19-9-87.Communication between enforcing court and modifying court
Chapter 9. Child Custody Proceedings · Article 3. Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act · Part 3. Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Foreign Decrees · Last amended 2001 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-9-87
Plain-English Summary
Custody fights sometimes run on two tracks at once: one parent asks Georgia to enforce an existing order while the other parent asks a court elsewhere to change it. This section keeps the two courts from working at cross purposes.
It applies when an enforcement proceeding under Part 3 of the Act has started in a Georgia court and that court learns that a proceeding to modify the same determination is pending in another state’s court that has jurisdiction to modify under Part 2. Then the Georgia court must immediately communicate with the modifying court. Section 19-9-49 governs how courts in different states communicate, including when a record must be made and when the parties must be told.
The section leans toward enforcement. The Georgia proceeding continues unless the Georgia court, after consulting the modifying court, stays or dismisses it. So a pending modification case elsewhere doesn’t freeze enforcement on its own; the Georgia judge decides, after talking with the other judge, whether to pause or end the Georgia case. The modifying court must have jurisdiction under Part 2 for this section to apply at all — a case filed in a state without that jurisdiction doesn’t trigger it. Section 19-9-66(c) covers the mirror image, when a Georgia court asked to modify an order learns of an enforcement case in another state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does filing to modify custody in another state stop enforcement in Georgia?
Not automatically. If a Georgia court enforcing a custody order learns that a modification case is pending in another state with jurisdiction to modify under Part 2 of the Act, it must immediately communicate with that court. But the Georgia enforcement case continues unless the Georgia court, after consulting the other court, decides to stay or dismiss it.
Will the Georgia judge talk to the judge in the other state?
Yes, when this section applies. If a Georgia court enforcing a custody order determines that a proceeding to modify that order is pending in another state’s court with jurisdiction to modify under Part 2, the Georgia court shall immediately communicate with that court. Under § 19-9-49, a record generally must be made of the communication, and the parties must be informed promptly and given access to it.
What happens to my Georgia enforcement case if the other parent files for modification elsewhere?
It keeps going unless the Georgia court stays or dismisses it after consulting the other court. The Georgia judge must first communicate with the modifying court, and only if that court has jurisdiction to modify under Part 2 of the Act. Whether to pause or end the Georgia case is the Georgia judge’s decision.
Does it matter which state the modification case was filed in?
Yes. This section applies only when the modification case is pending in a court of another state that has jurisdiction to modify the determination under Part 2 of the Act. A modification case filed in a state that lacks that jurisdiction doesn’t trigger the duty to communicate or give the Georgia court this reason to stay its proceeding.
Can the Georgia court dismiss my enforcement case because of an out-of-state modification case?
It can, but only after consulting the modifying court. The section says the enforcement proceeding continues unless the enforcing court, after consultation with the modifying court, stays or dismisses it. That choice rests with the Georgia judge, and it arises only when the other court has jurisdiction to modify under Part 2 of the Act.
Amendment History
Laws 2001, p. 129, § 1.