50 U.S.C. § 3938 — Child custody protection

Page 996 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3938 subsection (e) are in addition to and do not preclude any other remedy available under law to a person claiming relief under this section, including any award for consequential or punitive damages.’’ 2008—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 110–289, § 2203(b)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘in excess of 6 percent—’’ for ‘‘in excess of 6 percent per year during the period of military service.’’ and added subpars. (A) and (B). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–289, § 2203(b)(2), added subsec. (d) and struck out former subsec. (d). Prior to amend- ment, text read as follows: ‘‘As used in this section, the term ‘interest’ includes service charges, renewal charges, fees, or any other charges (except bona fide in- surance) with respect to an obligation or liability.’’ Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 110–389 added subsecs. (e) and (f). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section applicable to any case not final before Dec. 19, 2003, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–189, set out as a note under section 3901 of this title. § 3938. Child custody protection (a) Duration of temporary custody order based on certain deployments If a court renders a temporary order for custo- dial responsibility for a child based solely on a deployment or anticipated deployment of a par- ent who is a servicemember, the court shall re- quire that the temporary order shall expire not later than the period justified by the deploy- ment of the servicemember. (b) Limitation on consideration of member’s de- ployment in determination of child’s best in- terest If a motion or a petition is filed seeking a per- manent order to modify the custody of the child of a servicemember, no court may consider the absence of the servicemember by reason of de- ployment, or the possibility of deployment, as the sole factor in determining the best interest of the child. (c) No Federal jurisdiction or right of action or removal Nothing in this section shall create a Federal right of action or otherwise give rise to Federal jurisdiction or create a right of removal. (d) Preemption In any case where State law applicable to a child custody proceeding involving a temporary 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 appro- priate 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 to a location for a period of longer than 60 days and not longer than 540 days pursuant to temporary or permanent official or- ders— (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. (Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, title II, § 208, as added Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title V, § 566(a), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3384.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified to section 528 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassi- fication and renumbering as this section. § 3938a. Annual notice to members of the Armed Forces regarding child custody protections guaranteed by the Servicemembers Civil Re- lief Act The Secretaries of each of the military depart- ments shall ensure that each member of the Armed Forces with dependents receives annu- ally, and prior to each deployment, notice of the child custody protections afforded to members of the Armed Forces under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.). (Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title V, § 573, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2141.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, referred to in text, is act Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, 54 Stat. 1178, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, and not as part of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act which com- prises this chapter. SUBCHAPTER III—RENT, INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS, MORTGAGES, LIENS, AS- SIGNMENT, LEASES, COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE CONTRACTS Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub. L. 115–407, title III, § 304(b)(2)(A), Dec. 31, 2018, 132 Stat. 5375, substituted ‘‘RENT, INSTALLMENT CON- TRACTS, MORTGAGES, LIENS, ASSIGNMENT, LEASES, COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE CONTRACTS’’ for ‘‘RENT, INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS, MORT- GAGES, LIENS, ASSIGNMENT, LEASES, TELE- PHONE SERVICE CONTRACTS’’ in heading. Pub. L. 111–275, title III, § 302(b), Oct. 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 2876, inserted ‘‘, TELEPHONE SERVICE CONTRACTS’’ after ‘‘LEASES’’ in heading. § 3951. Evictions and distress (a) Court-ordered eviction (1) In general Except by court order, a landlord (or another person with paramount title) may not— (A) evict a servicemember, or the depend- ents of a servicemember, during a period of military service of the servicemember, from premises— (i) that are occupied or intended to be occupied primarily as a residence; and (ii) for which the monthly rent does not exceed $2,400, as adjusted under paragraph (2) for years after 2003; or