Proposed Federal Legislation Limiting Custody Determinations in Military Families

Attached are (1) a statement from the Adjutants General, and (2) the text of a bill entitled:  A Bill to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide for protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are members of the Armed Forces deployed in support of a contingency operation.

This has been brought before the Congress of the U.S. for the past three years.  It seeks to disallow non-temporary child custody determinations in cases in which one parent is on active duty in the military.  Both the ABA and the Adjutants General are opposed to such legislation.

Many states have enacted, or have tried to enact, legislation putting similar limits on custody determinations in military families.