Petition

After you read the petition go to the bottom and sign please. Then at the top and bottom of the page it has a facebook like tab you can click on it to add this to your facebook. Please help everyone!

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/protect-military-personnel-s-parental-rights.html

Respectfully
Heather Lucero

HELP

Hey,
If you send me an email saying that you can help or know someone that is willing to help. Please make sure that it's going to happen. Don't just tell me something to make me happy. It gets my husbands hopes up and that is not good sense he has not seen his daughter sense Halloween of 2010.

HELP!!!

We have exhausted ALL our avenues… Over $10,000 dollars later, LOSING his visitation rights, over a YEAR in court battles and the Texas Supreme Court REJECTING our case, I am in DIARE NEED of ANY help, advice or an ear to listen/read what is going on.  DON’T let my husband’s diligent SERVICE to “OUR” COUNTRY make him lose out on being an OUTSTANDING dad, father or friend to his little girl!

My Husband is LOSING Custody of HIS daughter, due to his MILITARY Service

LOSING HIS DAUGHTER...

 I am the proud spouse of a Service Veteran. Due to my husband’s brave and Honorable service in the United States Army, he is in the process of losing his daughter, due to the lack of Rights and Laws protecting those who serve /served active duty during peace and/or war time.   In November, 2010, my husband lost ALL access rights to his daughter due to his military obligations.  According to the Judicial District Courts of the State of Texas, a Service members and/or Service Veterans are not allowed the time needed to seek the proper counseling and/or help needed to any Service member returning home from war. 

 In the research I have completed just on my own; I found 34 veterans in the State of Texas that have not only lost custody of their children but are facing loosing visitation as well, this all due to their military service during time of war. Also, I have spoken with other military members that are currently active and they have stated that "if this issue is not addressed and fixed, they will complete their term of service and will not re-enlist due to the lack of protection against this type of issue at hand.”  We need these service members!  They need to know that they have rights to their children once they enlist into active duty and/or are stationed to a place, stateside or abroad. Our service members who are active duty getting ready to mobilize  for deployment (not mobilized) who do not have constant contact with their children due to the deployment training.  Also, there needs to be in place a demobilized section for those Service members and/or Veterans who return from combat and/or specialized training.  This will protect those who have returned home and need to be in counseling and not able to return back to their families/children right away. D.O.D knows that for Service Members to deploy they have to have the training and it is not as simple as we need you in Iraq, or Afghanistan (examples) get ready you are deploying tomorrow.

Neither my husband, the Veterans and Military Personnel that I have spoken with, nor myself feel that protecting Service Members just while they are deployed is acceptable. I have also read the laws of divorce, even in our great State of Texas does NOT protect the Active Duty Service Member.  We as a Country have so many single parents!  Why are these Service Members being dismissed?   As of 2008  "The active-duty military includes nearly 73,000 single parents, which equates to 5.3 percent of the total force, according to Defense Department statistics from 2008. The Army leads the way with more than 35,000 single parents, followed by the Navy with more than 16,000, and the Air Force with more than 15,000. The Marine Corps, the smallest force, has about 5,000" according to Elaine Wilson a reporter for the American Forces Press Service found on www.af.mil official website.   

I have spoken to over 35 law offices/attorneys and found that 34 Service veterans loosing custody of their children due to serving their Country, 31 out of the 34 Service Veterans were/are single parents.  Mothers and father well let’s say children loosing the right to have their parents because there have not been laws put into place protecting children of active duty soldiers. These laws do need to be federal laws. If every state has different laws then it will cause problems. You speak of which state has jurisdiction over military members children the veterans going through these child custody battles and my husband feel that it is stated perfectly in the federal law.( The Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement act)  who has jurisdiction over these children. This is not an issue that needs to be addressed.

            The solution to the problem is simple. There needs to be a federal law that states:

While on “Active Duty Statues” as a single parent the military member is to designate a person to care for his/ her Child/ children.  The designated person has the rights as managing conservator while the military member is on “Active Duty”.  The Military member shall have the rights of visitation with the child when the Military member is allowed by his/her  “chain of command”.  There for the parent child relationship can stay intact.

1.      Non-Parent referring to – an Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, Grandparent, or friend of the Family to the child

2.      Gradual visitation is a time for bonding for the parent child relationship that must be completed if the child has had little to no contact with the Parent.

3.      A Non- parent managing conservator or conservator has no Standing in any court for the child/ children in question.

4.      If a parent is designated to care for the child or managing conservator of the child and signs guardianship of the child to a Non- Parent the Service member will complete gradual visitation with the child and retain managing conservatorship with the Non- Parent having no standing in court.

5.      A parent of a child designated or otherwise holds managing conservatorship with or/without a court order shall inform the parent in the Armed Forces that they are signing guardianship to another person and it must be done in a court that has jurisdiction over the child / children in question.  

6.      A Non- Parent managing conservator does not have standing to bring to court requests for DNA, The right to move the child out of the state the parent left the child in when starting their Military Obligation. Unless, the Non-Parent Managing conservator has been given written permission from the Parent. In this case the state the child resided in when the parent started their Military service still retains jurisdiction over the child.

7.      A Parent managing conservator has the right to move the child out of state just so they have given the other Parent written notice of their intent 30 days prior to moving.

Dual Military Members:

1.      Must designate a person to care for their child when they are in training / deploy that does not permit them to have physical possession of their children.

2.      Must visit with the child/children in question when their “Chain of Command” allows them.

 

www.defense.gov
www.af.mil