• 17
  • February
    2011

Just yesterday, the Department of Defense announced a major about face concerning federal legislation designed to protect the child custody rights of military personnel.

Specifically, in a budget hearing meeting with the House Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Pentagon now supported congressional efforts to craft federal legislation that would help ensure military service would not count against parents in child custody hearings.

The previous stance by the Defense Department was that family law matters were the exclusive domain of the individual states, and that federal legislation concerning military personnel and child custody would only complicate already complex legal matters.

Interestingly, prior to this position reversal, the Defense Department's State Liaison Office had been working with officials in each of the 50 states in an attempt to pass military-friendly child custody legislation.

The Defense Department has now officially reached out to Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), author of the Service Members Family Protection Act.

This legislation, introduced in 2006, would have banned family court judges in the individual states from using deployments against military parents when making custody determinations and prohibited permanent changes to child custody orders while military parents were on deployment.

It ultimately failed in 2006 due to Senate opposition.

Turner has indicated that the support of Defense Secretary Gates will go a long way toward overcoming this Senate opposition and that he plans on working with the Pentagon to draft legislation that is very similar to his unsuccessful Service Members Family Protection Act.

"Our men and women in uniform should not have to worry about losing their children while they defend us overseas," said Turner.

If you are currently involved in a child custody dispute or have questions regarding child custody, you should strongly consider speaking with an experienced legal professional.

This post is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Stay tuned for more from our Denver divorce blog ...

Related Resources:

Pentagon to support bill to protect troops' child custody rights (Stars and Stripes)