§ 33. Jurisdiction; Family Division
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Family Division shall
have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and dispose of the following proceedings filed
or pending on or after October 1, 1990:
(1) All desertion and support proceedings and all parentage actions filed pursuant to
15 V.S.A. chapter 5.
(2) All rights of married women proceedings filed pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 3.
(3) All enforcement of support proceedings filed pursuant to Title 15B.
(4) All annulment and divorce proceedings filed pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 11.
(5) All parent and child proceedings filed pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 15.
(6) Grandparents’ visitation proceedings filed pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 18.
(7) All uniform child custody proceedings filed pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 20.
(8) All proceedings filed pursuant to 33 V.S.A. chapters 51, 52, 52A, and 53, including proceedings involving “youthful offenders” pursuant to 33 V.S.A. § 5281 whether the matter originated in the Criminal or Family Division of the Superior
Court, except for a proceeding charging the holder of a commercial driver’s license
or commercial learner’s permit as defined in 23 V.S.A. § 4103 or operating a commercial motor vehicle with any offense or violation of any traffic
control law other than parking, vehicle weight, or vehicle defect violations.
(9) All enforcement of support proceedings filed pursuant to 33 V.S.A. chapter 39.
(10) All guardianship services proceedings for persons with developmental disabilities
filed pursuant to 18 V.S.A. chapter 215.
(11) All mental health proceedings filed pursuant to 18 V.S.A. chapters 179, 181, and 185.
(12) All involuntary sterilization proceedings filed pursuant to 18 V.S.A. chapter 204.
(13) All care for persons with intellectual disabilities proceedings filed pursuant to
18 V.S.A. chapter 206.
(14) All abuse prevention proceedings filed pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 21. Any Superior judge may issue orders for emergency relief pursuant to 15 V.S.A. § 1104.
(15) All abuse and exploitation proceedings filed pursuant to 33 V.S.A. chapter 69, subchapter 2.
(16) All proceedings relating to the dissolution of a civil union.
(17) All requests to modify or enforce orders previously issued by the District or Superior
Court relating to any of the proceedings identified in subdivisions (1)-(16) of this
subsection.
(18) Concurrent with the Probate Division, special immigration judicial determinations
regarding the custody and care of children within the meaning of the federal Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) and 8 C.F.R. § 204.11) issued pursuant to 14 V.S.A. chapter 111, subchapter 14.
(b) The Family Division of the Superior Court has jurisdiction to hear and dispose of
proceedings involving motor vehicle offenses filed pursuant to 33 V.S.A. §§ 5201, 5203, 5280, and 5281. The Family Division of the Superior Court shall forward a record
of any conviction or adjudication for violation of a law related to motor vehicle
traffic control, other than a parking violation, to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles
pursuant to 23 V.S.A. § 1709. As used in this subsection, “conviction” has the same meaning as in 23 V.S.A. § 4(60). (Added 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 7d; amended 2011, No. 29, § 2; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 2015, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 19; 2019, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 27, eff. Oct. 7, 2020; 2021, No. 65, § 13, eff. June 7, 2021; 2025, No. 41, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.)