Military father regains child custody upon appeal

Those who are a part of the military have a duty to serve the country. Many times this means that they will be deployed to countries all over the world in order to serve and protect the nation's interests. Parents in Virginia and elsewhere also have a duty as well, which lies with taking care of their children. However, when a parent is also in the military these two sets of duties can sometimes create serious conflict regarding child custody.

Recently a panel of appellate court justices in a child custody battle ruled that lower court judges should not have stripped the father of primary custody while he was being deployed overseas. Initially the lower court judge restored primary custody of the boy to the mother, who had also been serving in the military while the couple was still married. The coupled divorced in 2001, one year following the birth of their son.

The parents had shared custody while the father retained primary custody of the child. The conflict started with a disagreement between the parents about where the child would be attending school. The father wanted their son to attend a school closer to where he lived, whereas the mother wanted the child to continue attending school in the location where the family lived while the father was deployed overseas.

The lower court judge ordered a doctor's review regarding which household would be best for the child. The doctor determined that it would be better for the child to continue attending the school near the mother. However, the appellate court ruled that the doctor's report should never have been ordered, and also gave back primary child custody to the father. This case illustrates that family law regarding a military family may not be straightforward in Virginia and elsewhere. Therefore, thorough research of the law may be necessary in these types of situations.

Source: Oceanside-Camp Pendleton, CA Patch, "Deployment Shouldn't Deprive Soldier of Child Custody, Court Rules," Jan. 3, 2013

Source: http://www.springfieldfamilylawlawyers.com/2013/01/military-father-regains-child-custody-upon-appeal.shtml

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