US panel seeks to improve child custody rules for military
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A commission of lawyers working to simplify child custody rules for military servicemembers meets Wednesday for final approval on a measure that could streamline custody rules across the United States, The Associated Press reported.
If approved, the Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act would streamline laws and rules that state legislatures can adopt in order to standardize custody rights for military parents, particularly those who are deployed, AP reported.
While many states already have passed laws to protect deployed parents, the rules and laws aren’t consistent across the country, AP quoted Eric Fish, legal counsel for the Uniform Law Commission, the group of roughly 350 lawyers who are meeting Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.
According to AP, some issues state courts face include how to determine jurisdiction when a military member is assigned to a base in another state, whether a step-parent or grandparent can have visitation rights when a parent is deployed, and whether a temporary custody arrangement should be made permanent when a parent returns from deployment.
Source: The Associated Press
