{"data":{"id":"us-wy/wyo.-stat.-20-5-202","jurisdiction":"us-wy","citation":"Wyo. Stat. § 20-5-202","heading":"Definitions.","body":"(a) As used in this act:\n(i) \"Abandoned\" means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision;\n(ii) \"Child\" means an individual who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age;\n(iii) \"Child custody determination\" means a judgment, decree or other order of a court providing for the legal custody, physical custody or visitation with respect to a child, including a permanent, temporary, initial or modification order. \"Child custody determination\" shall not include an order relating to child support or other monetary obligation of an individual;\n(iv) \"Child custody proceeding\" means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody or visitation with respect to a child is an issue, including a proceeding for divorce, separation, neglect, abuse, dependency, guardianship, paternity, termination of parental rights or protection from domestic violence in which the issue may appear. \"Child custody proceeding\" shall not include a proceeding involving juvenile delinquency, contractual emancipation or enforcement under article 4 of this act;\n(v) \"Commencement\" means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding;\n(vi) \"Court\" means an entity authorized under the law of a state to establish, enforce or modify a child custody determination;\n(vii) \"Home state\" means the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six (6) consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding or, in the case of a child less than six (6) months of age, the state in which the child lived from birth with a parent or a person acting as a parent. A period of temporary absence of any of the persons mentioned is part of the period;\n(viii) \"Initial determination\" means the first child custody determination concerning a particular child;\n(ix) \"Issuing court\" means the court that makes a child custody determination for which enforcement is sought under this act;\n(x) \"Issuing state\" means the state in which a child custody determination is made;\n(xi) \"Modification\" means a child custody determination that changes, replaces, supersedes or is otherwise made after a previous determination concerning the same child, whether or not it is made by the court that made the previous determination;\n(xii) \"Person\" means as defined by W.S. 8-1-102(a)(vi);\n(xiii) \"Person acting as a parent\" means a person, other than a parent, who:\n(A) Has physical custody of the child or has had physical custody for a period of six (6) consecutive months, including any temporary absence, within one (1) year immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding; and\n(B) Has been awarded legal custody by a court or claims a right to legal custody under the law of this state.\n(xiv) \"Physical custody\" means the physical care and supervision of a child;\n(xv) \"State\" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States;\n(xvi) \"Tribe\" means an Indian tribe or band, or Alaskan native village, which is recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state;\n(xvii) \"Warrant\" means an order issued by a court authorizing law enforcement officers to take physical custody of a child;\n(xviii) \"This act\" means W.S. 20-5-201 through 20-5-502.","path":["TITLE 20 - DOMESTIC RELATIONS","CHAPTER 5 - CHILD CUSTODY","ARTICLE 2 - GENERAL PROVISIONS"],"source_url":"https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title20.pdf","current_through":"2026 Budget Session; as of 2026-07-01","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-04T00:16:32Z","sha256":"0da45eeff4c750d98d872a890ba0d4da4baba302079a23c789b9edd0ebb457da","source_id":"us-wy","stale":false,"prev":"us-wy/wyo.-stat.-20-5-201","next":"us-wy/wyo.-stat.-20-5-203"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}