UPDATES IN MICHIGAN FAMILY LAW

Military Divorce and Right to Continued TRICARE Coverage

A person who is divorced from a military service member may be eligible for continued coverage by TRICARE.To apply for this continued coverage, you'll need various documents:

• Divorce Decree
• Marriage Certificate
• DD Form 214 or Statement of Service from the applicable Service Personnel Component.

Note that during the divorce process, if your spouse is retired, you'll want to be sure to obtain a copy of his separation papers. This is DD Form 214.

There are various possibilities, including the following:

Scenario 1: The "20-20-20" Rule

Obtaining Records from Department of Defense

Thanks to Mark E. Sullivan, a retired Army Reserve JAG colonel, for instructions in how to obtain witnesses and documents from the Department of the Navy. Mr. Sullivan recently posted to the American Bar Association Family Law Listserv complete instructions regarding the production of Department of the Navy witnesses and documents for the purpose of litigation.  Mr. Sullivan says: "I suggest that you review carefully, but it appears to me that the request needs to go to the General Counsel of the Navy. See enclosure 3 page 4. There's an address and phone # listed.

Mark E. Sullivan practices family law in Raleigh, NC and is the author of THE MILITARY DIVORCE HANDBOOK (Am. Bar Assn., 2nd Ed. 2011)

Download SECNAVINST 5820 8A Release of Govt Info

“Good to Go” (and Return!) Part 3: Planning and Prevention

Mark E. Sullivan is today's Guest Author. This is an article about military parents who have sole or primary custody, and how military absences can affect their custody orders and their military family care plans. The first section of the article will cover the ground rules for protecting and advising a military custodian as to mobilization, sea duty, deployments, and other military absences. Please see the bottom of this post for Mr. Sullivan's Author Bio

[The previous two sections of this article covered the ground rules for protecting and advising a military custodian, and the danger of adverse court action if the servicemember doesn’t plan ahead. This article concludes with a prescription for avoiding disaster by crafting the court’s custody order with an eye to the future and a plan for who gets custody when the military member is absent.]

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“Good to Go” (and Return!) Part 2: The Sailor and the Perfect Storm

Mark E. Sullivan is today's Guest Author. This is an article about military parents who have sole or primary custody, and how military absences can affect their custody orders and their military family care plans. The first section of the article will cover the ground rules for protecting and advising a military custodian as to mobilization, sea duty, deployments, and other military absences. Please see the bottom of this post for Mr. Sullivan's Author Bio.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[The previous section of this article covered the ground rules for protecting and advising a military custodian as to mobilization, sea duty, deployments, and other military absences. It also outlined the key points in maintaining military custody for a parent in uniform, dealing with the custody claims of the other parent during a military absence, appointing a step-parent or relative as alternate custodian, and to resuming custody when your client returns from overseas.]

UPDATE: Time-out Called in Servicemember's Custody Action

While I was still "in press" on this Blog today, I missed an update to the Matthew Hindes' case. Matthew Catchick, a family law attorney in Southfield, Michigan, posted a link to a Detroit Free Press article on the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Listserv that is highly relevant to this case. Thank you Matt! Yesterday, Sunday June 23, 2014, Judge Noe in Lenawee County, Michigan issued an order adjourning the pending motion.

Apparently, there's been some miscommunication in this case, now resolved . . . at least as far as the need for a dispositive hearing today. The judge has adjourned the hearing on the basis of servicemember Hindes' right for relief under the Servicemember's Civil Relief Act.

Associated Press, Judge orders break in Adrian sailor's child custody case, Detroit Free Press, June 23, 2014 at 9:54 AM, accessed on June June 23, 2014 at 3:23 PM

“Good to Go” (and Return!) Part 1: Unraveling the Rules

Mark E. Sullivan is today's Guest Author. This is an article about military parents who have sole or primary custody, and how military absences can affect their custody orders and their military family care plans. The first section of the article will cover the ground rules for protecting and advising a military custodian as to mobilization, sea duty, deployments, and other military absences. Please see the bottom of this post for Mr. Sullivan's Author Bio.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Janet Smith was just stopping for a cup of coffee at The Courthouse Deli when she saw Sam Jones in a corner booth looking glum. After ordering, she came over and joined him, asking “Why the long face, Sam?”

Sam replied, “I’ve got a problem, Janet. Maybe you can help me – I know you were in the Army JAG Corps for four years, and you might know some answers. It’s about a military custody situation.”

“Sure,” replied Janet. She had done her homework and was familiar with the literature on military custody issues.1 “Let’s hear what it involves.”

Servicemember Left Child with Step-Mother & Now Threatened with Contempt / Loss of Custody

Matthew Hindes, a father and U.S. Navy sailor on active duty and stationed on a submarine in the Pacific Ocean, has been ordered by a Michigan judge to appear in court or he could lose custody of his daughter, and be arrested for contempt. Hindes requested a stay of the hearing for 90 days under the "Servicemembers Civil Relief Act," cited also by his commanders. The judge has refused to adjourn the hearing.

In 2010, Kaylee Hindes' mother was found to have neglected her and custody of Kaylee was awarded to Matthew Hindes. Apparently the mother is now complaining because Hindes left his daughter in the temporary care of his wife, Kaylee's step-mother, in Washington State while he is on active duty. Hindes' commanders cite the "Servicemembers Civil Relief Act" as a reason why the Michigan Court should give Hindes, an active duty service member, 90 days to make it back for court hearings. But the judge won't do it, because he says Hindes should have left the 6-year-old child with her mother while he was overseas.

Source:   Eldridge, Keith, Local sailor ordered to be in court, despite being out to sea, KomoNews.com, Jun 17, 2014 [Accessed June 23, 2014]

NOTE: SEE UPDATE HERE  http://tinyurl.com/o526m8f

Video News here:

Military Families - Paying It Forward

CBS featured a moving story recently about an 8-year-old boy named Myles Eckert who lives with his mother and family near Toledo, Ohio. Myles' father, Army Sgt. Andy Eckert, was killed in Iraq when Miles was just five weeks old. Myles is a Gold Star kid whose family pays it forward, a lesson Myles made clear to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey who serves at an Ohio Air National Guard base located near Toledo.

Above is a CBS News broadcast interview with Dailey, Myles and his mom on February 28, 2014. I don't want to spoil the story. Frank Dailey says Myles gave him more than a gift. "A lifetime direction, for sure," Dailey says. I think you will agree. As family lawyers, we are in a position to pay it forward as well. The question is, will we?

For a follow-up on a later Ellen DeGeneres Show, see here.

Service of Process - U.S. Servicemembers

Unfortunately, separation and divorce affect U.S. Servicemembers as well as the public. Many military spouses lack the ability to retain legal counsel and may resort to a Do-It-Yourself Kit. I do not recommend this for many reasons.

If a military spouse can afford counsel, counsel still has to make service of process on the SM. If this is a simple case--for example, a 1-year marriage, no assets, no children, no support case--service of process may be informal simply because both parties want to end the marriage. The defendant service member may be cooperative in ending the marriage. The judgment would have to include a provision that states that the servicemember was advised of his/her rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and intentionally, knowingly waived those rights.

Dividing Military Pensions | New Guide

Mark Sullivan, family lawyer in North Carolina and military family law guru, advises that DFAS just revised the guide for attorneys in preparing MDPO's [military pension division orders].  Mark says that although there's NOTHING about clauses to use in getting SBP coverage, you'll find it invaluable in laying out pre-approved sample clauses for pension division, including the VERY TRICKY hypothetical clauses.

As for me . . . I will stick with the professionals who draft such orders. However, every family lawyer should have a working knowledge of how this is done since the military pension is usually the most valuable asset in a military family. Download your Download DFAS AttorneyGuidance.

How SCRA Protects Servicemembers from Foreclosures & Civil Suits

Not too long ago, I wrote a blog post about a mortgage foreclosure reported on NPR | All things Considered about a foreclosure on the home of Capt. Mike Clauer who was then serving in Iraq as company commander of an Army National Guard unit assigned to escort convoys. His home was put in foreclosure because of unpaid homeowner association dues.

Mark Sullivan, who literally wrote the book, The Military Divorce Handbook: A Practical Guide to Representing Military Personnel and Their Families, Second EditionThe Military Divorce Handbook: A Practical Guide to Representing Military Personnel and Their Families, Second Edition, offers this advice to servicemembers and their families about how SCRA--the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act--provides protection for those who are serving our country and are faced with mortgage foreclosures: Mark Sullivan says:

Revisions to UCCJEA and Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act Proposed

Thanks to Ron Nelson, Esq. of Lenexa, Kansas for this information. Ron is well-known as an expert in the UCCJEA as well as a terrific family lawyer. Significant changes are proposed by the Uniform Laws Commission. The Annual Meeting Drafts of proposed updated/new uniform laws are now online at: http://t.co/fLEI4WZ4

Included are the Revisions to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act for Implementation of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children (Jurisdiction), which is up for its "first read" and on the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act, which is up for final consideration.

Resource: The American Veterans and Servicemembers Survival Guide

Hat-tip to Mark E. Sullivan, family lawyer from Raleigh, North Carolina, for pointing out this resource: The American Veterans and Servicemembers Survival Guide. This resource is chock-full of information on disability issues, legal assistance, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, military disability retired pay, recall to active duty, benefits for those who have served, medical care, survivor benefits, and lots more. Download Survival%20Guide-102309

Mark E. Sullivan is the author of The Military Divorce Handbook: A Practical Guide to Representing Military Personnel and Their Families, Second Edition, (Am Bar Assn 2011). There are discounts available for members of the ABA. 

Servicemember Family Protection Act | Opposed by ABA

Thank you, Ron Nelson, for alerting family lawyers about the progress in Congress with respect to the proposed federal legislation "Servicemember Family 'Protection' Act," H.R. 4201. According to Mr. Nelson, the U.S. House last night passed H.R. 4201, the Servicemember Family Protection Act by a 390–2 vote. You may track that legislation at this link.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr4201

The American Bar Association opposes this bill. Mark Sullivan and Trish Apy are the ABA members who assembled the materials for the ABA Family Law Section and testified before Congress against the bill. Their White Paper opposing the legislation may be read here. It is a must read.

The bill now proceeds to the Senate side.

Hat tip to Ronald W. Nelson

Division of Military Pensions | Protecting Interests

Military disability benefits can be misunderstood not only by spouses or former spouses, but also by some attorneys. It's very important to understand the financial ramifications for a former spouse if a military service member retires on disability or partial disability so that he or she does not receive the amount of "retired pay" that was relied upon when drafting a judgment of dissolution or judgment of divorce. Mistakes can be costly. See especially items number 18 through 20 in a handout (link below) prepared to help lay people and lawyers protect former spouses when distribution of a military pension will be included in a divorce judgment.

Thanks for the heads-up from Deanne L. Bonner of the law firm Bonner Di Salvo PLLC about the recent revision of the NCLAMP handout regarding military disability benefits. The Legal Eagle handout, VA Disability Compensation and Divorce – Facts and Fallacies, was written by Mark E. Sullivan, Col., Ret., a member of the Military Committee, ABA Family Law Section.

Mr. Sullivan is also the author of The Military Divorce Handbook: A Practical Guide to Representing Military Personnel and Their Families, Second Edition, (Am Bar Assn 2011). There are discounts available for members of the ABA.

Military Deployment or Divorce & Child Custody

I often represent service members who have family law issues. I'm sure no one will disagree, though, that SMs don't usually have the financial resources for expensive divorce litigation. If the issues are not complex (for example, do not involve child custody or parenting time, or do not involve a claim regarding any rights to retirement benefits because the marriage is very short and it's easier in the long run to offset a retirement claim against another asset), there are times when SMs can help themselves. It's not something I recommend that an SM do, however, without first taking a careful look at the issues and perhaps scheduling an appointment with an experienced family law attorney.

Assistance for Service Members in Need

A service member, former client of mine, in response to my query about assistance for some special needs of a current client, active duty in the Navy, made me aware of this grant program. If you are in need or if you are a lawyer with a service member who has financial difficulties, check out http://www.usacares.org/ This organization provides grants, not loans, to service members.

Note also that there is a place to make donations--both of time and money. Having seen some pay statements of service members, it's clear to me that we are not paying them enough for what they do! A donation to USA Cares would be a good way to show your appreciation.

P.T.S.D. Affects Returning Service Members | Help Available

For thousands of combat veterans, driving has become an ordeal. Once their problems were viewed mainly as a form of road rage or thrill seeking. But increasingly, erratic driving by returning troops is being identified as a symptom of traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, or P.T.S.D. — and coming under greater scrutiny amid concerns about higher accident rates among veterans.

The New York Times today discusses how P.T.S.D. is affecting the driving effectiveness of returning service members.                                                                        Image by Max Whittaker for The NY Times

Military Divorce: Returning Warriors and “The Home Front”

Today's guest author is Mark E. Sullivan, a retired Army Reserve JAG colonel. Mark practices family law in Raleigh, NC and is the author of THE MILITARY DIVORCE HANDBOOK (Am. Bar Assn., 2nd Ed. 2011), from which portions of this article are adapted. See his contact information below.

1. RETURN OF THE WARRIORS

Empty outposts overseas mean full billets and bedrooms back at home.  In view of the “new phase of relations” between the U.S. and Iraq, using Vice-President Joe Biden’s language, many servicemembers (SMs) are returning home.  The redeployment of military personnel back to their stateside assignments and their homes is the result of significant drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan.  SMs who are returning from the Middle East are not only from the active-duty forces (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines); they are also from the Reserve Component, namely, the National Guard and the Reserves.  Thus the homecoming impact will be felt nationwide, not just in communities near military bases.  While reuniting with one’s family will be a joyous experience for SMs, it may create significant stresses for some.  And these stresses may lead to legal consequences.

Deployments | May Service Member Leave Children with Step-parent?

        I've had several cases this year involving deployed parents who have sought to maintain family continuity for their children during deployments. Spiteful ex-spouses in each case have sought to limit contact between the children and their step-parent and/or the children and the service member's parents.

        Frequently, the inability to be with a step-parent or grandparent will deprive the children of contact with the deployed parent through Skype or even telephone. My patience wears thin when I see mean-spirited parents (usually mothers) refuse to permit the children to keep building memories of the absent parent. In 2007, however, a Colorado appellate court held that a deployed parent had the right to leave the children with his new spouse during his deployment.  According to the court, this isn't much different from a custodial parent leaving the children with a daycare provider, a friend, etc. So long as both parents are fit, the court ruled, each can make day-to-day decisions during his or her allotted parenting time. Wouldn't it be great if other service members in other states could get similar relief from their family courts!

Division of Military Pensions in Divorce Judgments

At the recent Summer Seminar, one of the published decisions Scott Bassett summarized during his    presentation was Megee v Carmine, 290 Mich.App. 551
802 N.W.2d 669.  It dealt with the consequences of the husband's post-divorce waiver of retirement pay in favor of collecting combat-related special compensation (CRSC). 

The parties' judgment of divorce was entered in September 1989. In the judgment, defendant Carmine [f/k/a Megee] was awarded 50 percent of plaintiff’s Navy disposable retirement pay as part of the property division. The judgment incorporated a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to enforce that provision. The QDRO acknowledged the 50-percent division of plaintiff’s disposable retirement pay, also referred to therein as his pension, and it prevented plaintiff from making another benefit election “that would otherwise reduce the monthly pension allotment without the written consent [of defendant].”

ABA Home Front | New Internet Resource for Military Servicemembers

A new website for military service members and their families has been launched by the American Bar Association recently. The website's purpose is to provide information about a variety of legal issues to servicemembers. Called the ABA Home Front, the website has an information center, a directory of programs and a military pro bono center.

Henry M. Dewoskin, chairperson of the military committee of the Family Law Section, says that he and other volunteers worked with ABA staff to provide clearly written and understood information for people who are not lawyers. Dewoskin, is a judge advocate general officer who currently serves as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. He hopes this website will be a great resource for the public.

Legal protection for active-duty military and their families provided by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is explained on the website, which will provide 24/7 information to servicemembers and their families. 

Military Families | Deployment | Gates now supports law to protect child custody

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has reversed the Pentagon’s course and now supports legislation that would prevent service members from losing custody of their children solely because of deployment, reversing the department’s position on the issue.

The previous official Defense Department stance had opposed federal legislation. But in a Tuesday letter to Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, Gates said he had been giving the matter “a lot of thought,” and now supports legislation that provides service members with a federal standard of protection in cases where it is established that military service is the sole factor involved in a child custody decision involving a service member.

Families Bear Brunt of Deployment Strains

The New York Times, in a series of articles titled "A Year at War," addresses issues related to the personal impact of deployment into war zones upon American service members. Today's article takes a look at the toll upon families--left-behind children, spouses, families, and also the toll upon family members who must suddenly accommodate their lives to become caregivers for the children of single parents.

Michigan Court of Appeals decides important military pension case

In Megee v Megee, ___ Mich App ___ (Docket No 292207, decided November 16, 2010), Plaintiff ex-husband appealed by leave granted the trial court’s order that directed him to act as trustee for the benefit of defendant with respect to half of plaintiff’s monthly combat-related special compensation (CRSC), (disability pay) and then deliver those funds to the defendant ex-wife. The COA reversed and remanded.

In Megee, the parties were divorced in September 1989. Defendant Wife was awarded 50 percent of Plaintiff Husband’s Navy disposable retirement pay as part of the property division. The judgment incorporated a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to enforce that provision. The QDRO acknowledged the 50-percent division of plaintiff’s disposable retirement pay, also referred to therein as his pension. The QDRO also prevented H from making another benefit election “that would otherwise reduce the monthly pension allotment without the written consent [of defendant].” In 2008, ex-H was deemed eligible for disability benefits (“CRSC“) related to combat-related activities and exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. His election, however, would require ex-H to waive further receipt of his retirement pay. He elected to receive CRSC, resulting in termination of his retirement pay. As a result, ex-W stopped receiving her 50% of his retirement pay under the QDRO. Ex-W filed a motion to enforce the divorce judgment and QDRO, and the trial court entered the challenged order that effectively forces ex-H to pay ex-W half of his CRSC.

Servicemembers & International Parental Abduction | Part I

Servicemembers who marry foreign nationals while stationed overseas have been promised more advice about the child custody issues that can complicate dissolution of international marriages.

The Defense Department has promised more information about the family court systems in countries such as Japan and Germany, where servicemembers have become entangled in complicated court battles to see their children, according to a report issued by the Pentagon in August.

Deployment | Grandparenting time to support parent-child contact

I am not a big fan of grandparenting time if it infringes upon the right of a fit parent to decide whether that contact will be good for his or her child. However, there are some exceptions. One is a case where a parent is deceased and the child or children lived with the deceased parent and his or her parents prior to the parent's death. Obviously, unless there are some very good reasons to limit contact between children and the grandparents who helped to raise them, some kind of grandparenting time is completely appropriate. Grieving is hard enough for children. Grandparents can help keep the memory of a deceased parent alive.

Another obvious exception is when a parent is deployed. This is particularly true when the acrimony between divorced parents is such that the custodial parent will not allow telephone or Internet contact between the deployed parent. Throw a stepparent into the mix and often you'll find that the opposition to grandparent-grandchild contact is really an attempt to control access of the stepparent to the child or children.

Service members | Deployments, custody & parenting time

Many state legislatures have recently enacted or proposed legislation to help divorced or separated military service members maintain their parent-child relationships with their children during and after deployments. These laws (or proposed laws) are meant to restore to service members returning from a deployment the relationship he or she had with his or her children prior to deployment.

All too often, custodial parents have impeded or completely eliminated contact between deployed service members and their children. This means that a deployed soldier might call his or her children at the court-specified time, but nobody answers. Letters sent to the children never reach them. Young children who need frequent contact with both parents in order to maintain a parent-child relationship are particularly affected.

Web Tool Helps Veterans Navigate Web Resources

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it has revised its e-VETS Advisor—an interactive, online tool to assist Veterans, Service Members and their families and caregivers to quickly and easily navigate Web-based information on a variety of topics, including education, job training and employment. 

The updated e-VETS Advisor offers access to more than 11,000 services and resources at the national, state and local levels.  In addition to education, job training and employment, it provides information on benefits and compensation; family and caregiver support; health; housing; homeless assistance; and transportation and travel.  It integrates with the National Resource Directory (NRD), a Web-based index of services and resources collaboratively managed by the Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.

Department of Veterans Affairs to ease rules for PTSD claims

Family law attorneys are seeing so much pain in our military families.  Here is some news about veteran's benefits for PTSD that we should send on to our military clients, past and present. Many of them may be aware of this, but it never hurts to make certain.

The New York Times reported on July 7, 2010 that the Department of   Veterans Affairs will make it "substantially easier" for veterans to receive disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder. The rules will apply to veterans of all wars, not just the most recent ones.

Under the new rules, first proposed last summer and scheduled to take effect as early as next week, veterans will not have to document specific events that may have caused PTSD. Claimants need "simply show that they served in a war zone and in a job consistent with the events that they say caused their conditions," according to the Times.

Service Members | Foreclosures for Unpaid Homeowner Association Dues?

All things Considered reported on June 29, 2010 that Capt. Mike Clauer was serving in Iraq last year as company commander of an Army National Guard unit assigned to escort convoys when he received notice that his house was being foreclosed on by his neighborhood's homeowner's association. As if Clauer needed this worry piled on his day!

Clauer's duty assignment involved exceedingly dangerous work — explosive devices buried in the road were a constant threat to the lives of Clauer and his men. [Photo from Mike Clauer]

This NPR story wouldn't come about if we were talking about just one family. Clauer was halfway through his deployment when he got a bolt from the blue — a frantic phone call from his wife, May, back in Texas.

NPR News Investigations | Brain Wars: How The Military Is Failing Its Wounded

As family law lawyers, we're seeing more marriages failing in military families.  Sometimes divorce in the military family is caused by the absence and the growing apart of a couple. Sometimes, it's infidelity on the part of one or both spouses. But more often, it's due to war injuries. Some of the injuries are catastrophic. Others don't show on the surface, but impact the ability of a husband and wife to function as a family.

Recently, NPR in cooperation with Pro Publica has been running a detailed investigative series on the effects of war on a service member's brain and the failure of the military to diagnose these serious brain injuries. In addition, another part of this series of reports illustrates how service members are having to fight to get adequate treatment.

Location of military service records and how to request them

There are times when, in a family law case, it is important to have the military personnel or medical records of a service member. Some records from personnel files are available and stored in various locations. Records of a medical or mental health issueare kept in other locations. Some of those may be unavailable.

Here is a link to a page that describes in detail how to obtain active duty medical records for service members. There are links to forms. Other records are addressed below.

Military Personnel Records:

The Gratitude Campaign

I represent a fair number of service members, both male and female. Usually, I don't get to meet them and most everything is done by email or telephone. But sometimes, I do get to know them--some better than others.

This video came to me today in an email. Having heard some of the stories, having seen some of the fallout with families, children and the service members themselves, I am always concerned that they are appreciated for their service and their sacrifices. The video shows a wonderful way to express your gratitude. It's not about whether these military operations are something you approve or disapprove. It's about saying "Thank you for being there for me, for my family, for our country. Thank you for your sacrifices." And please, pass it along.

To send to a friend, copy and paste this link: The Gratitude Campaign

Military families | Educational issues for special needs children

The Washington Post today published an article about initiatives on behalf of military families, led by the Marines and the Army, to address the medical, educational and emotional challenges faced by special-needs families.

According to the Defense Department, about 220,000 active-duty and reserve service members have dependents with special needs, but only 90,000 are enrolled in the military's main program to serve them. For the past two decades, the program has ensured that families are transferred only to bases that have doctors available to address their needs. That has prompted concern among service members that it will interfere with promotions and has caused the program to be underutilized.

The Army initiated a program in 2007 to offer as much as 40 hours a month of free respite care for soldiers who have dependents with disabilities. In 2008, the Marine Corps followed suit. In addition, the Corp created about 60 new positions at installations across the country to help Marines and their families make the transition from place to place more smoothly. A caseworker is assigned to each Marine Corps family to help them understand each state's differing disability regulations and navigate the bewildering process of accessing special education services.

The Washington Post reports that "[t]hree staff attorneys have been designated to help parents with legal issues related to disabilities, including pressing school districts for those services. . . .
"They needed to do something so that service members could deploy without worrying," said Joyce Raezer, executive director of the Alexandria-based National Military Family Association. 

The entire Post news story Military helps families find help for special-needs kids may be read here.

Jurisdiction in cases of military service or employment abroad

     People who are in the armed services or who are employed abroad do not lose their residency and do not lose subject matter jurisdiction in a County in Michigan and in the State of Michigan so long as they can demonstrate the requisite “intent to remain” under Michigan law.

Service persons and/or employees working abroad | residence of intent. All servicepersons must declare a legal residence to the DOD—this is the residence to which they intend to return upon leaving the service. In Michigan the rule of law is that the intent to remain citizens of Michigan is sufficient to confer subject matter jurisdiction over a divorce in a Michigan court.

Divorce and Military Families

The stress faced by military  families, frequent moves and deployments can spell disaster for military families. For you, as for most families, divorce can be a life tragedy. You and your spouse entered into marriage with plans for a happy and long future. Perhaps you have children who are young and vulnerable. Divorce can leave your children feeling afraid and uncertain about their future. It can also leave you feeling vulnerable and lost, particularly if you are far from home, without the support of friends and family.

A frequent question asked by military spouses is whether they have to file for divorce in the State where they are based and their children are living, or whether they can file in Michigan. This is particularly true when Michigan is the place they call "Home."

High rate of divorce among females in military?

Don Moore reports on the blog Divorce360 that women soldiers in the United States military are more than twice as likely to become divorced as their male counterparts, according to figures released by the Department of Defense. And no one is exactly certain why. The military's figure for divorce in the service for women soldiers of 7 percent is almost twice the comparable figure of the female civilian population in the U.S. who get divorced.

Benjamin Moore, lead researcher for the Rand Corporation speculated as to the cause for these high rates of divorce among female service persons:

Military families and domestic violence

On February 15, 2008 the New York Times published an article entitled "When Strains on Military Families Turn Deadly" by Lizette Alvarex and Deborah Sontag. The article details the failure of the Department of Defense's Family Advocacy Program to protect the families of military personnel from domestic violence. The stress of war has exacerbated the pressure on our military personnel and has led to terrible, often fatal, acts of domestic violence.

The question is: How can these violent acts be prevented? I urge all lawyers who have any contact with and/or are representing family members of military personnel to read this article to the end. It's not easy. The cases described in the article are horrific.

Military Deployments: How to Avoid the Danger that Deployment, as an Unmarried Custodial Parent, Could Trigger a Change in Circumstances Permitting the Trial Court to Re-visit and Modify an Existing Custody and Parenting Time Order.

One of the certainties facing our American military personnel is that there will be a deployment or deployments in their future. Many of our men and women in the armed forces are custodial parents in single-parent households. How can these fathers and mothers protect their custodial relationships with their children when a deployment means placement of the children with a non-custodial parent or with a third party or parties such as aunts and uncles or grandparents?

Let me first make it clear that I am a Michigan family lawyer and I can only speak from the viewpoint of what Michigan law provides. I have a strong belief, however, that what I am about to tell you may also be true in the state where a custody and parenting time / visitation was entered regarding your child or children. Let me also be clear about the fact that every family law case is “fact-driven.” What I mean by that is that every family has its own unique set of circumstances and specific facts that will ultimately provide a trial court with the factual basis to rule in your favor --- or, sadly, to rule against you.

<p>My goal here is to provide you with the information, the forms, and the skills that will help you to protect your custodial relationship with your child or children. Bear in mind that I am providing you with general information that is not intended to create an attorney/client relationship. For expert guidance to resolve and to protect your specific family situation, you should consult with a professional in your state of residence.</p>

That said, let’s take a look at two specific cases decided by the Michigan Court of Appeals to see how the voluntary relinquishment of a child because of a deployment may impact on the custodial relationship.

Deployed troops battle for custody of children

When Lt. Eva Crouch was mobilized with the Kentucky National Guard, she had to leave behind her daughter Sara, 6 years after a divorce in which she was awarded primary custody. Sara went to live with her father. Fortunately, she was not deployed to Iraq, but ended up at Fort Knox and was able to visit with Sara most weekends. Eighteen months later, her assignment finished, Crouch called her ex-husband’s home to say that she’d pick Sara up the next day. His response stunned her: “Not without a court order you won’t.”  

Thus began an extended court battle. First the trial court in Kentucky ruled in favor of Crouch’s ex-husband, deciding that it was in Sara’s best interests to stay with him. Appeals to higher courts followed. It took two years and about $25,000 before a Kentucky appellate ruled that Lt. Crouch should have custody. In doing so, the court relied, in part, upon a new statute in Kentucky, one that Crouch had fought to get enacted.

Military Deployments and Child Custody Orders

The Michigan Court of Appeals issued an unpublished decision on July 18, 2006 remanding to the trial court and directing that court to comply with a Michigan statute that requires the court to return a child to a parent who has returned from active military duty. In addition, the COA reversed two prior court orders that changed custody from the custodial parent after she attempted to vest the maternal grandparent with guardianship upon her deployment rather than to allow the non-custodial father to care for the child in her absence.

More on Deployments and Custody

Attorney Grant Griffiths has written on his blog Kansas Family and Divorce Lawyer about a custody decision awarding custody of a 2-year-old to the mother after a father was deployed to Iraq for a significant period of time, rejecting the father's request for a delay under authority ot the Servicemembers' Relief Act.

For information about divorce and military families, see Jeanne Hannah's website

What Resources are Available to Help Military Families with Domestic Abuse Issues?

Michigan family law practitioners frequently are called upon to advise clients who are in the military. But how many family lawyers know about the domestic violence advocacy resources available to these clients through the Department of Defense? One such resource is the Family Advocacy Program (“FAP”), which helps family members married to employees of the DoD who are victims of domestic violence escape an abusive relationship. Counseling, rehabilitative services, and support – financial support – is available [Described more fully below]

The Department of Defense has taken a zero tolerance position on the issue of domestic abuse, saying:

"Child and spouse abuse threatens the fabric of our entire society. Concern for the welfare of Navy families and the effects of family violence on military performance prompted the establishment of the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) in 1976. Today the FAP is designed to address the prevention, identification, reporting, intervention, treatment, and follow-up of child and spouse maltreatment. Family Advocacy is a leadership issue. As part of "taking care of our own" it is the responsibility of each Navy and Marine Corps service member to ensure the safety health and well being of his/her family members. Additionally, each member is expected to exemplify Navy and Marine Corps leadership core values of honor, courage and commitment. Child and spouse abuse is unacceptable and incompatible with these high standards of professional and personal discipline."

Information I received from the Department of Defense indicates that family advocates will be looking at all forms of family violence, not just aggravated (injury-causing) physical violence. There are “degrees” of family violence; thus spousal abuse by definition at FAP includes physical violence that does not cause injury; verbal abuse; intimidation; and patterns of isolating, emotionally abusing, and/or economically controlling the victim. Threats, forced degrading behavior, and reprisals for reporting are also regarded as domestic abuse by FAP.

Military Families and Access to Courts

With so many Americans overseas on active duty now, those left behind encounter various legal problems that cannot be resolved under normal family court procedures.

Mark E. Sullivan, co-chair of the Military Committee, ABA Family Law Section, has put together a good resource for military couples. A Judge’s Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act , is available on the web site of the American Bar Association.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act replaces the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act. It appears at 50 U.S.C. App. § 501 et seq. The Judges’ Guide will tell you how judges can decide whom it covers, how it works, and how to administer a case in which a servicemember is involved.

For information about divorce and military families, see Jeanne Hannah's website.