North Carolina Bill Addresses Military Personnel Losing Custody Rights because of Deployment
Earlier this month, The Divorce Blog detailed the unfortunate circumstances involving military personnel who have been deployed to duty and consequently lost child custody rights that were granted to them during divorce. Specifically, that story detailed how noncustodial parents were coming in and requesting custody of their children after their ex-spouses were sent to duty, and how many judges have ruled in favor of these requests out of the “best interests of the child.” With that said, a North Carolina bill would aim to protect military personnel from losing custody of their children while fulfilling their duty. Specifically, this bill would prevent an automatic “change of circumstance” regarding child custody and visitation upon military deployment and rather equip these service members with the option of delegating their visitation rights to another family member for the duration of the deployment.
A recent Charlotte Observer story provided more details on this proposed North Carolina child custody law for deployed military personnel. This legislation would ensure that service members regain custody when they arrive back home, expedite custody or visitation hearings prior to deployment, and allow deployed personnel to appear at court hearings over the telephone, teleconference or the Internet.
The Charlotte Observer story added that similar legislation is being considered in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. We’ll keep you updated with any more developments on this North Carolina legislation and similar proposals in these other states.
