                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

COOPERATION BETWEEN COURTS; PRESERVATION OF RECORDS (§ 20-146.11)

A. A court of this Commonwealth may request the appropriate court of another
state to:

   1. Hold an evidentiary hearing;

   2. Order a person to produce or give evidence pursuant to procedures of that
   state;

   3. Order that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody of a child
   involved in a pending proceeding;

   4. Forward to the court of this Commonwealth a certified copy of the
   transcript of the record of the hearing, the evidence otherwise presented, and
   any evaluation prepared in compliance with the request; and

   5. Order a party to a child custody proceeding or any person having physical
   custody of the child to appear in the proceeding with or without the child.

B. Upon request of a court of another state, a court of this Commonwealth may
hold a hearing or enter an order described in subsection A.

C. Travel and other necessary and reasonable expenses incurred under subsections
A and B may be assessed against the parties according to the law of this
Commonwealth.

D. A court of this Commonwealth shall preserve the pleadings, orders, decrees,
records of hearings, evaluations, and other pertinent records with respect to a
child custody proceeding until the child attains eighteen years of age. Upon
appropriate request by a court or law-enforcement official of another state, the
court shall forward a certified copy of those records.

HISTORY: 1979, c. 229, §§ 20-142, 20-143, 20-144, 20-145; 2001, c. 305.