Is Custody Affected if Kids Become Dependents of Their Stepfather in the Military
My question involves a child custody case from the State of: SC & TX
I have primary physical custody (joint legal) of my two kids (9&12) in SC. After the SC divorce their mother moved to TX. Months later she remarried an active Army member and moved on base. Per our agreement the kids spend the school year with me and summers with their mother. Based on communications since her recent marriage I feel she will try to gain primary custody soon, perhaps while they are there. I know I can't act until/unless she does but I'm trying to avoid potential mistakes and understand the process if it does occur.
She is pushing me to allow her to have them entered into the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) and receive military IDs. This will provide them them secondary health insurance coverage (which I am for) but also establishes them as their stepfather's "dependents". 1) Does this dependency somehow establish some level of custody which could negate the effectiveness of the original settlement? Am I inadvertently &/or voluntarily giving up custody? 2) If she refuses to return them in August, perhaps in conjunction with filing for primary custody, does living on base change the process for custody enforcement? I have no evidence that she is planning anything. I'm fearful that processes could be more challenging or lengthier given the military element. I can't imagine the difficulty to enforce a different state's court order on a federal military installation.
Re: Is Custody Affected if Kids Become Dependents of Their Stepfather in the Military
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chrispdad
My question involves a child custody case from the State of: SC & TX
I have primary physical custody (joint legal) of my two kids (9&12) in SC. After the SC divorce their mother moved to TX. Months later she remarried an active Army member and moved on base. Per our agreement the kids spend the school year with me and summers with their mother. Based on communications since her recent marriage I feel she will try to gain primary custody soon, perhaps while they are there. I know I can't act until/unless she does but I'm trying to avoid potential mistakes and understand the process if it does occur.
She is pushing me to allow her to have them entered into the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) and receive military IDs. This will provide them them secondary health insurance coverage (which I am for) but also establishes them as their stepfather's "dependents". 1) Does this dependency somehow establish some level of custody which could negate the effectiveness of the original settlement? Am I inadvertently &/or voluntarily giving up custody? 2) If she refuses to return them in August, perhaps in conjunction with filing for primary custody, does living on base change the process for custody enforcement? I have no evidence that she is planning anything. I'm fearful that processes could be more challenging or lengthier given the military element. I can't imagine the difficulty to enforce a different state's court order on a federal military installation.
Unless you sign paperwork that states that mom has custody your custody orders cannot be negated by anything done to give them military ID's or secondary insurance. Make sure that you read very carefully anything that you are asked to sign.