IIB 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4201 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 4, 2012 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide 
for the protection of child custody arrangements for par-
ents who are members of the Armed Forces. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:29 Jun 05, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4201.RFS
H4201
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 4201 RFS 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Servicemember Family 
Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF CHILD CUSTODY ARRANGEMENTS 
FOR PARENTS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES. 
(a) CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION.—Title II of the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 521 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 208. CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION. 
‘‘(a) 
RESTRICTION
ON
TEMPORARY
CUSTODY 
ORDER.—If a court renders a temporary order for custo-
dial responsibility for a child based solely on a deployment 
or anticipated deployment of a parent who is a service-
member, then the court shall require that upon the return 
of the servicemember from deployment, the custody order 
that was in effect immediately preceding the temporary 
order shall be reinstated, unless the court finds that such 
a reinstatement is not in the best interest of the child, 
except that any such finding shall be subject to subsection 
(b). 
‘‘(b) EXCLUSION OF MILITARY SERVICE FROM DE-
TERMINATION OF CHILD’S BEST INTEREST.—If a motion 
or a petition is filed seeking a permanent order to modify 
the custody of the child of a servicemember, no court may 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:29 Jun 05, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4201.RFS
H4201
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 4201 RFS 
consider the absence of the servicemember by reason of 
deployment, or the possibility of deployment, in deter-
mining the best interest of the child. 
‘‘(c) NO FEDERAL RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in 
this section shall create a Federal right of action. 
‘‘(d) PREEMPTION.—In any case where State law ap-
plicable to a child custody proceeding involving a tem-
porary order as contemplated in this section provides a 
higher standard of protection to the rights of the parent 
who is a deploying servicemember than the rights provided 
under this section with respect to such temporary order, 
the appropriate court shall apply the higher State stand-
ard. 
‘‘(e) DEPLOYMENT DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘deployment’ means the movement or mobilization of 
a servicemember for a period of longer than 60 days and 
not longer than 18 months pursuant to temporary or per-
manent official orders— 
‘‘(1) that are designated as unaccompanied; 
‘‘(2) for which dependent travel is not author-
ized; or 
‘‘(3) that otherwise do not permit the move-
ment of family members to that location.’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:29 Jun 05, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4201.RFS
H4201
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
HR 4201 RFS 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by adding at the 
end of the items relating to title II the following new item: 
‘‘208. Child custody protection.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 30, 2012. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:29 Jun 05, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4201.RFS
H4201
srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS