N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 77-d: Registration of child custody determination

§ 77-d. Registration of child custody determination. 1. 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;

(a) a letter or other document requesting registration;

(b) 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; and

(c) except as otherwise provided in section seventy-six-h of this

article, 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 determination sought to be registered.

2. On receipt of the documents required by subdivision one of this

section, the registering court shall:

(a) 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

(b) serve notice upon the persons named pursuant to subdivision one of

this section and provide them with an opportunity to contest the

registration in accordance with this section.

3. The notice required by paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this

section must state that:

(a) 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;

(b) a hearing to contest the validity of the registered determination

must be requested within twenty days after service of notice; and

(c) 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.

4. 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:

(a) the issuing court did not have jurisdiction under title two of

this article;

(b) the child custody determination sought to be registered has been

vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisdiction to do so

under title two of this article; or

(c) the person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but

notice was not given in accordance with the standards of section

seventy-five-g of this article, in the proceedings before the court that

issued the order for which registration is sought.

5. 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.

6. 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.