822.38.Expedited enforcement of child custody determination.

Section 822.38 opens the expedited enforcement process under this subchapter. A petition to enforce a child custody determination must be verified, and the petitioner must attach certified copies of every order sought to be enforced, along with any order confirming registration; an ordinary copy of that certified copy will do in place of the original.

The petition itself has to answer a set list of questions: whether the issuing court identified its jurisdictional basis and what that basis was; whether the determination has since been vacated, stayed, or modified, and if so by which court and case; whether any related proceeding is pending, including one touching domestic violence, protective orders, parental rights, or adoption; the present address of the child and the respondent, if known; whether the petitioner wants relief beyond immediate physical custody and attorney fees, such as law enforcement assistance; and, if the determination has already been registered and confirmed under s. 822.35, when and where that registration happened.

Once the petition is filed, the court must order the respondent to appear, with or without the child, and may enter any order needed to keep the parties and the child safe in the meantime. The hearing goes on the next judicial day after the order is served, unless that is not possible, in which case the court holds it on the first day it can. The court may push the hearing date back at the petitioner’s request.