The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
002
:
JURISDICTION
(Cite as: 15 V.S.A. § 1074)
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§ 1074. Temporary emergency jurisdiction
(a) A Vermont court has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in Vermont,
and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the
child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened
with mistreatment or abuse.
(b) If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced
under this chapter, and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court
of a state having jurisdiction under sections 1071-1073 of this title, a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an
order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under sections 1071-1073 of this title. If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state
having jurisdiction under sections 1071-1073 of this title, a child custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination,
if it so provides, and Vermont becomes the home state of the child.
(c) If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced
under this chapter, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of
a state having jurisdiction under sections 1071-1073 of this title, any order issued by a Vermont court under this section shall specify in the order
a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to
obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction under sections 1071-1073 of this title. The order issued in Vermont remains in effect until an order is obtained from the
other state within the period specified or the period expires.
(d) A Vermont court that has been asked to make a child custody determination under this
section upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in,
or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction
under sections 1071-1073 of this title shall immediately communicate with the other court. A Vermont court that is exercising
jurisdiction pursuant to sections 1071-1073 of this title, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a
child custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute
similar to this section, shall immediately communicate with the court of that state
to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine
a period for the duration of the temporary order. (Added 2011, No. 29, § 1.)