The Reality 

Military Families Across the United States, approximately 1.32 million active-duty service members stand ready to defend our country. 

Each year, an estimated 20,000 of them go through divorce or custody proceedings.

 For military families, divorce is not just emotional — it becomes a logistical crisis.

Unlike civilian families, service members do not control where they live. They receive mandatory relocation orders requiring them to report to a new duty station within strict timelines.

Courts, however, operate on standard schedules that often cannot resolve custody matters before a service member must move.

 

The Result

Children are left in legal limbo.

They may:

• Lose stable housing

• Experience interruptions in schooling

• Temporarily lose access to healthcare tied to military benefits

 

Parents may be forced to choose between:

• Obeying lawful military orders

• Staying behind to fight emergency custody battles

 

 This instability is not in the best interest of children — and it affects military readiness nationwide.

 

⸻ The Problem

When a service member receives relocation orders:

• Courts may not schedule hearings quickly enough

• Service of process can cause delays

 • Temporary parenting arrangements may not be decided before the report date

 • Children may be caught between jurisdictions

• Military parents may accumulate significant legal debt traveling for hearings

• Financial strain can even impact security clearances, affecting readiness among the troops.

 

This is not about winning custody.

It is about ensuring temporary stability while courts do their job.

 

Current law, including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), protects service members from certain financial defaults and offers stay for Family matters proceedings. However, it does not adequately protect children from instability during relocation disputes.

 

⸻ The Solution

The Military Children Stability Act

 

The Military Children Stability Act is a narrowly tailored proposal designed to:

• ✔ Preserve child stability during mandatory military relocation

• ✔ Allow service members to comply with lawful orders

• ✔ Protect the due process rights of both parents

• ✔ Ensure courts still make final custody decisions after a full hearing.

 

The Act does not determine permanent custody. Instead, it creates a temporary framework.

 

⸻ How the Act Works

1. Temporary Relocation Presumption

If a service member receives relocation orders exceeding 90 days, the court grants temporary relocation with the child — unless clear evidence shows the move would cause immediate harm.

2. Stability First Temporary orders preserve:

• Housing • School enrollment

• Medical treatment

• Military healthcare benefits

• Daily supervision and routine

 

3. Parenting Time Protected

The non-relocating parent receives structured long-distance parenting time, including:

 • Electronic communication

• Extended visitation during leave periods

 

4. Remote Hearings

If stationed more than 500 miles away, service members may appear remotely for hearings

— preventing default judgments simply because they are serving elsewhere.

 

 5. Full Hearing Still Required

Permanent custody decisions are still made at a full evidentiary hearing under existing family law standards.

This Act balances child stability, fairness, and military readiness.

 

⸻ Why This Matters Military children already move frequently.

They sacrifice stability for our nation’s security.

They should not lose:

• Their home

• Their school

• Their healthcare

• Their daily routine.

 Simply because a custody hearing could not be scheduled before a report date.

 

Service members should not have to choose between:

• Obeying military orders

• Protecting their parental rights

And military units should not face readiness challenges due to unresolved custody emergencies.

 

⸻ Who This Helps

• Primary caretaking military parents

• Children whose housing and healthcare depend on military benefits

• Service members facing relocation deadlines

• Military families navigating multi-state custody laws

• The readiness of our Armed Forces.

 

 This is not a partisan issue. It is a child stability and readiness issue.

 

⸻ What This Act Does NOT Do

The Act does not:

• Automatically grant permanent custody

• Eliminate court review

• Remove the other parent’s rights

• Override best-interest legal standards.

It simply provides temporary stability until courts can conduct full hearings.

 

 ⸻ Why Your Signature Matters

 Lawmakers respond when citizens demonstrate that an issue affects families nationwide.

With approximately 20,000 active-duty divorces per year, and a high likelihood of custody disputes due to mandatory relocations, this issue affects thousands of military children annually.

Signing this petition supports:

• Stability for military children

• Fair access to the courts

• Responsible military readiness

 • Balanced due-process protections

 

 Our military families sacrifice for us every day. It is time to ensure their children are protected during relocation transitions.

Sign the Military Children Stability Act, and stand with military children and the families who serve this nation.