West Virginia Code § 48-20-305

Registration of child custody determination
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(a) A child custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered in this
state, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to the appropriate
court in this state:
(1) A letter or other document requesting registration;
(2) Two copies, including one certified copy, of the determination sought to be registered,
and a statement under penalty of perjury that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the
person seeking registration the order has not been modified; andu
(3) Except as otherwise provided in section 20-209, the name and address of the person
seeking registration and any parent or person acting as a parent who has been awarded
custody or visitation in the child custody determinationa sought to be registered.
(b) On receipt of the documents required by subsecltion (a) of this section, the registering
court shall:
(1) Cause the determination to be filed as a foreign judgment, together with one copy of any
accompanying documents and information, regardless of their form; and
(2) Serve notice upon the persons named pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection (a) of this
section and provide them with an opportunity to contest the registration in accordance with
this section.
(c) The notice required by subdivision (2), subsection (b) of this section must state that:
(1) A registered determination is enforceable as of the date of the registration in the same
manner as a determination issued by a court of this state;
(2) WA hearing to contest the validity of the registered determination must be requested in
writing to the court within twenty days after service of notice; and
(3) Failure to contest the registration will result in confirmation of the child custody
determination and preclude further contest of that determination with respect to any matter
that could have been asserted.
(d) A person seeking to contest the validity of a registered order must request a hearing
within twenty days after service of the notice. At that hearing, the court shall confirm the
registered order unless the person contesting registration establishes that:
(1) The issuing court did not have jurisdiction under part 2 of this article;
(2) The child custody determination sought to be registered has been vacated, stayed, or
modified by a court having jurisdiction to do so under 20-201, et seq.; or
(3) The person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was not given in
accordance with the standards of section 20-108 in the proceedings before the court that
issued the order for which registration is sought.
(e) If a timely request for a hearing to contest the validity of the registration is not made, the
registration is confirmed as a matter of law and the person requesting registration and all
persons served must be notified of the confirmation. e
(f) Confirmation of a registered order, whether by operation of law or after notice and
hearing, precludes further contest of the order with respect to any matter that could have
been asserted at the time of registration. u

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