{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-json\/20-88.37.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-text\/20-88.37.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-xml\/20-88.37.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-html\/20-88.37.html"}],"law_id":353729,"edition_id":2,"section_id":353729,"structure_id":50645,"section_number":"20-88.37","catch_line":"Initiating and responding tribunal of the Commonwealth","history":"1994, c. 673; 2015, c. 727.","full_text":"Under this chapter, a tribunal of the Commonwealth may serve as an initiating tribunal to forward proceedings to a tribunal of another state and as a responding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another state or a foreign country.\n\n","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":1317736,"text":"Under this chapter, a tribunal of the Commonwealth may serve as an initiating tribunal to forward proceedings to a tribunal of another state and as a responding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another state or a foreign country.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":50645,"edition_id":2,"name":"Jurisdiction in Proceedings Involving Two or More States","identifier":"3","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":3,"parent_id":50642,"metadata":{"child_laws":4,"child_structures":0},"date_created":"2026-08-02 02:30:38","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:30:51","permalink":{"id":1405707,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":50645,"identifier":"3","token":"20\/5.3\/3","url":"\/20\/5.3\/3\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":50642,"edition_id":2,"name":"Uniform Interstate Family Support Act","identifier":"5.3","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":10,"parent_id":50619,"metadata":{"child_laws":77,"child_structures":13},"date_created":"2026-08-02 02:30:37","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:30:50","permalink":{"id":1405597,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":50642,"identifier":"5.3","token":"20\/5.3","url":"\/20\/5.3\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":50619,"edition_id":2,"name":"Domestic Relations","identifier":"20","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":56,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{"child_laws":329,"child_structures":36},"date_created":"2026-08-02 02:30:08","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:30:49","permalink":{"id":1405077,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":50619,"identifier":"20","token":"20","url":"\/20\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":353729,"structure_id":50645,"section_number":"20-88.37","catch_line":"Initiating and responding tribunal of the Commonwealth","url":"\/20-88.37\/","token":"20\/5.3\/3\/20-88.37","metadata":false},{"id":353730,"structure_id":50645,"section_number":"20-88.38","catch_line":"Simultaneous proceedings in another state","url":"\/20-88.38\/","token":"20\/5.3\/3\/20-88.38","metadata":false},{"id":353731,"structure_id":50645,"section_number":"20-88.39","catch_line":"Continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify child support order","url":"\/20-88.39\/","token":"20\/5.3\/3\/20-88.39","metadata":false},{"id":353732,"structure_id":50645,"section_number":"20-88.40","catch_line":"Continuing jurisdiction to enforce child support order","url":"\/20-88.40\/","token":"20\/5.3\/3\/20-88.40","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":353730,"structure_id":50645,"section_number":"20-88.38","catch_line":"Simultaneous proceedings in another state","url":"\/20-88.38\/","token":"20\/5.3\/3\/20-88.38","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/20-88.37\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1994. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 673<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 1 time. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. That modification is as follows: in 2015, chapter 727<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":353778,"section_number":"20-88.77:1","catch_line":"Jurisdiction to modify support order of another state when individual parties reside in this Commonwealth","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-88.77_1\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":1405709,"object_type":"law","relational_id":353729,"identifier":"20-88.37","token":"20\/5.3\/3\/20-88.37","url":"\/20-88.37\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/20-88.37\/","token":"20\/5.3\/3\/20-88.37","dublin_core":{"Title":"Initiating and responding tribunal of the Commonwealth","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 20-88.37","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Under this chapter, a tribunal of the Commonwealth may serve as an initiating tribunal<\/span> to forward proceedings to a tribunal of another state<\/span> and as a responding tribunal<\/span> for proceedings initiated in another state<\/span> or a foreign country<\/span>.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nINITIATING AND RESPONDING TRIBUNAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH (\u00a7 20-88.37)\n\nUnder this chapter, a tribunal of the Commonwealth may serve as an initiating\ntribunal to forward proceedings to a tribunal of another state and as a\nresponding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another state or a foreign\ncountry.\n\nHISTORY: 1994, c. 673; 2015, c. 727.","edition":{"id":2,"name":"2026","slug":"2026","date_created":"2026-07-16 18:40:23","date_modified":"2026-08-02 15:14:36","current":1,"order_by":2,"last_import":"2026-08-02 12:37:30"}}