Amendment Protects Custody Rights of Deployed Troops

Press Release

Amendment Protects Custody Rights of Deployed Troops

In January, a provision I sponsored was signed into law to protect the custody rights of our soldiers. In family court proceedings, judges had been using the military service and deployment of parents as grounds to change their custody arrangements. It is inconceivable to me that a parent's service to their country would ever be held against them for any reason. Last month, my provision became law when the President signed the Defense Authorization Bill.

I first became aware of this problem when I read a news story about the legal issues facing Lt. Eva Crouch-Slusher. Eva served with the Kentucky National Guardand was deployed as part of her service to her country. Her service was later used as the basis to strip her of custody of her daughter Sara. After a two-year, $25,000 battle to regain custody, Lt. Slusher was ultimately successful in retaining custody of her daughter but at tremendously high personal cost.

Unfortunately, Eva's story is not an isolated incident. Family courts have chosen to use the time our men and women serve away from home in active military duty against the service members in custody decisions. In some cases, courts are overturning established custody arrangements as the custodial parent is preparing for combat in the War on Terror. To use that service against them as a parent is inexcusable and something that the provision I offered corrects legislatively. The provision protects our service members and it protects our children.

My provision protects deployed parents in two ways. First, it restricts courts from changing the custody of a service member's child while they are deployed and unable to participate in the proceeding. This means that a deployed soldier will get the opportunity to defend themselves and what they believe is best for their child in court. Second, my provision advises courts against using a military parent's deployment as the sole reason that custody of a child is taken away. The provision alters the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act which eases the legal and economic burdens on military personnel called to active duty.

This effort to protect the custodial rights of deployed military parents took nearly a year to complete and required the assistance of both my colleagues in the House and Senate. I also worked with Eva Crouch-Slusher personally to advance this issue and am hopeful that this legislation will help military parents in the future.

Our troops deserve more than the best equipment, health care, and salaries that we can provide them. They also deserve to know that their service and sacrifice are appreciated by their country. Nothing can be more central to making our troops feel appreciated than protecting their rights as parents.

No parent, courageous and honorable enough to volunteer to serve in the U.S. military, should have their time spent overseas in defense of our nation used against them in their custody disputes. These brave men and women are heroes and deserve our deepest gratitude. I am proud of the work that we have done in advocating for military families and I am committed to working in their interests in the future.

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