1. Except as otherwise provided in section 598B.204, a court of this state shall not exercise its jurisdiction under this article if, at the time of the commencement of the proceeding, a proceeding concerning the custody of the child has been commenced in a court of another state having jurisdiction substantially in conformity with this chapter, unless the proceeding has been terminated or is stayed by the court of the other state because a court of this state is a more convenient forum under section 598B.207.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 598B.206

  • Child: means an individual who has not attained eighteen years of age. See Iowa Code 598B.102
  • 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. See Iowa Code 598B.102
  • Child-custody proceeding: means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child is an issue. See Iowa Code 598B.102
  • Commencement: means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding. See Iowa Code 598B.102
  • Court: means an entity authorized under the law of a state to establish, enforce, or modify a child-custody determination. See Iowa Code 598B.102
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • 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. See Iowa Code 598B.102
  • 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. See Iowa Code 598B.102
 2. Except as otherwise provided in section 598B.204, a court of this state, before hearing a child-custody proceeding, shall examine the court documents and other information supplied by the parties pursuant to section 598B.209. If the court determines that a child-custody proceeding has been commenced in a court in another state having jurisdiction substantially in accordance with this chapter, the court of this state shall stay its proceeding and communicate with the court of the other state. If the court of the state having jurisdiction substantially in accordance with this chapter does not determine that the court of this state is a more appropriate forum, the court of this state shall dismiss the proceeding.
 3. In a proceeding to modify a child-custody determination, a court of this state shall determine whether a proceeding to enforce the determination has been commenced in another state. If a proceeding to enforce a child-custody determination has been commenced in another state, the court may do any of the following:

 a. Stay the proceeding for modification pending the entry of an order of a court of the other state enforcing, staying, denying, or dismissing the proceeding for enforcement.
 b. Enjoin the parties from continuing with the proceeding for enforcement.
 c. Proceed with the modification under conditions it considers appropriate.
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