MILITARY FAMILY LAW 101: One issue that comes up often in military cases is which state has jurisdiction over decisions involving the children. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, (UCCJEA), sets rules about jurisdiction for all children, including those of servicemembers. The UCCJEA rules are complicated, as they require figuring out where a child has lived for the six months before the divorce was filed, which can be a difficult task. These rules can be tough on servicemembers, especially those who are deployed overseas. If they stay away longer than six months, the other parent can establish residency in a state where the servicemember has no ties, and the rest of the case will have to be handled there. A good idea when you are deployed overseas is to ask the other parent to sign an agreement about where the child will live and where the permanent home is. Then you won’t end up in a battle about where to argue about custody.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 12:00:00 +0000