US panel: Improve child custody rules for military

Topics: From the Wires,

US panel: Improve child custody rules for militaryThis undated photo provided by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class John Moreno shows Moreno and his daughter, Vanessa. Moreno, who lives in New Orleans, has been fighting a custody battle for years over his daughter, who lives in Arizona with her mother. A national legal group that is meeting in Nashville this week wants to simplify custody and visitation laws for military service members, whose frequent deployments can leave them without legal recourse when family disputes erupt. (AP Photo/Courtesy John Moreno) (Credit: AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A national legal panel that works to standardize state laws wants to simplify child custody rules for military service members, whose frequent deployments can leave them without clear legal recourse when family disputes erupt.

The Uniform Law Commission, a group of some 350 attorneys appointed by all the states, is meeting in Nashville on Wednesday to give final approval to the Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act. If approved by state legislatures, the act would standardize custody rights for parents who are deployed.

With deployments increasing in the last decade, many states have implemented a patchwork of laws designed to protect them in child custody and visitation cases, but the rules aren’t consistent across the country, says Eric Fish, legal counsel for the Uniformed Law Commission.

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