{"data":{"id":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-19-9-67","jurisdiction":"us-ga","citation":"O.C.G.A. § 19-9-67","heading":"Finding of inconvenient forum; conditions.","body":"(a) A court of this state which has jurisdiction under this article to make a child custody determination may decline to exercise its jurisdiction at any time if it determines that it is an inconvenient forum under the circumstances and that a court of another state is a more appropriate forum. The issue of inconvenient forum may be raised upon motion of a party, the court’s own motion, or request of another court.\n(b) Before determining whether it is an inconvenient forum, a court of this state shall consider whether it is appropriate for a court of another state to exercise jurisdiction. For this purpose, the court shall allow the parties to submit information and shall consider all relevant factors, including:\n(1) Whether family violence has occurred and is likely to continue in the future and which state could best protect the parties and the child;\n(2) The length of time the child has resided outside this state;\n(3) The distance between the court in this state and the court in the state that would assume jurisdiction;\n(4) The relative financial circumstances of the parties;\n(5) Any agreement of the parties as to which state should assume jurisdiction;\n(6) The nature and location of the evidence required to resolve the pending litigation, including testimony of the child;\n(7) The ability of the court of each state to decide the issue expeditiously and the procedures necessary to present the evidence; and\n(8) The familiarity of the court of each state with the facts and issues in the pending litigation.\n(c) If a court of this state determines that it is an inconvenient forum and that a court of another state is a more appropriate forum, it shall stay the proceedings upon condition that a child custody proceeding be promptly commenced in another designated state and may impose any other condition the court considers just and proper.\n(d) A court of this state may decline to exercise its jurisdiction under this article if a child custody determination is incidental to an action for divorce or another proceeding while still retaining jurisdiction over the divorce or other proceeding.","path":["TITLE 19 Domestic Relations","CHAPTER 9 Child Custody Proceedings","Article 3 Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act","PART 2 Jurisdiction"],"source_url":"https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2018/release86.2022.11/gov.ga.ocga.title.19.odt","current_through":"Release 86 (2022-11)","vintage":"Public.Resource.Org bulk O.C.G.A., Release 86 (2022-11), retrieved 2026-09-17","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T19:34:57Z","sha256":"cf5cafa3bb30b5b83a8c8ec3a5a3f5b154a0877fd167161ab89353e5388ceaf4","source_id":"us-ga","stale":false,"prev":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-19-9-66","next":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-19-9-68"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}