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Legal Information: Wyoming

Statutes: Wyoming

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Updated: 
October 13, 2023

20-2-203. Jurisdiction for enforcement and modification

(a) A court in this state which enters a custody order under W.S. 20-2-201 has continuing subject matter jurisdiction to enforce or modify the decree concerning the care, custody and visitation of the children as the circumstances of the parents and needs of the child require, subject to the provisions of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. A service member’s temporary duty, deployment or mobilization, as defined in W.S. 20-2-205, shall not alter any court’s continuing jurisdiction under this section. A court which has jurisdiction to enforce or modify an order under this section may decline to exercise its jurisdiction if it finds it is an inconvenient forum under the circumstances of the case and that the court which entered the original order is a more appropriate forum and has jurisdiction as set forth in the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

(b) A court in any county in Wyoming in which the child has lived with his parents, a parent or a person acting as a parent for six (6) consecutive months immediately prior to commencement of the custody proceeding may assert subject matter jurisdiction and adjudicate any proceedings involving the child. Periods of temporary absence of any of the named persons shall be included as part of the six (6) month period.

(c) Any party seeking to enforce or modify a custody order pursuant to this section shall attach a certified copy of the custody order to the petition to be enforced or modified. A certified copy of an order entered by a Wyoming court providing for the care, custody or visitation of children may be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court of any county in this state in which either parent resides if neither parent resides in the county of original jurisdiction. The district court for the county in which the order is filed has jurisdiction to enforce the order, provided:

(i) Upon request of the district court for the county in which a certified copy of the order has been filed, the court which originally entered the order shall forward certified copies of the transcript of the court record and pleadings, orders, decrees, records of hearings, social studies and other pertinent documents relating to the original proceeding; and

(ii) The district court for the county in which a certified copy of the order has been filed shall give due consideration to the transcript of the record and all other documents submitted to it in accordance with paragraph (i) of this subsection.

(d) In any proceeding to enforce or modify an order concerning the care, custody and visitation of children, any required notice or pleading shall be served as provided by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.