§ 19-9-90.Finding of immediate physical custody; awarding of fees, costs, and expenses; drawing adverse inference from refusal to testify; spousal relationship irrelevant
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 § 19-9-90
Plain-English Summary
This section tells the court what happens at the expedited hearing set under § 19-9-88. Unless the court issues a temporary emergency order under § 19-9-64, once it finds the petitioner is entitled to immediate physical custody of the child, it must order that the petitioner may take immediate physical custody. The respondent can stop that only by proving a defense. For an order never registered and confirmed under § 19-9-85, the defenses are that the issuing court lacked jurisdiction under Part 2 of the Act, that a court with Part 2 jurisdiction has vacated, stayed or modified the order, or that the respondent was entitled to notice in the original case but didn’t get it under § 19-9-47. For a registered and confirmed order, only the vacated, stayed or modified defense is left.
Money follows the result. The court must award the fees, costs and expenses authorized by § 19-9-92, and it may grant additional relief, including help from law enforcement officials, and set a further hearing on whether more relief is appropriate.
Two evidence rules make it harder to stall. If a party called to testify refuses to answer because the answer might be self-incriminating, the court may draw an adverse inference from the refusal — it may assume the answer would have hurt that party. And no one may invoke the privilege for communications between spouses, or a defense of immunity based on the husband-wife or parent-child relationship, in a proceeding under this part. A spouse can’t refuse to testify about what the other spouse said about hiding a child.
The § 19-9-64 carve-out matters. If the child is present in Georgia and has been abandoned, or an emergency requires protecting the child because the child, a sibling or a parent is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse, the court may issue a temporary emergency order instead of handing the child over.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens at a UCCJEA custody enforcement hearing in Georgia?
If the court finds the petitioner is entitled to immediate physical custody, it must order that the petitioner may take the child, unless the respondent proves a defense or the court issues a temporary emergency order under § 19-9-64. The court must also award fees and costs under § 19-9-92 and may grant more relief, such as law enforcement help, and set a further hearing.
Can the judge refuse to hand over the child because of abuse concerns?
Through a temporary emergency order. This section’s duty to let the petitioner take immediate physical custody doesn’t apply when the court issues a temporary emergency order under § 19-9-64. That section gives a Georgia court temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in Georgia and has been abandoned, or if an emergency requires protecting the child because the child or a sibling or parent is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.
What if the other parent pleads the Fifth at a custody enforcement hearing?
The court may draw an adverse inference. If a party called to testify refuses to answer on the ground that the testimony may be self-incriminating, the judge may infer that the answer would have been unfavorable to that party. Whether to draw that inference is up to the court.
Can my spouse refuse to testify against me in a custody enforcement case?
Not on marital privilege grounds. In a proceeding under this part, no one may invoke the privilege protecting communications between spouses, or a defense of immunity based on the relationship of husband and wife or parent and child. A spouse can still decline to answer on self-incrimination grounds, but the court may draw an adverse inference from that refusal.
Will I have to pay the other parent’s lawyer fees if I lose a custody enforcement hearing?
Likely, yes. This section says the court shall award the fees, costs and expenses authorized under § 19-9-92. That section requires an award to the prevailing party of necessary and reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, unless the party asked to pay proves the award would be clearly inappropriate.
Amendment History
Laws 2001, p. 129, § 1.