Thanks to Volunteer Attorney’s Quick Work, Sailor’s Child Allowed to Accompany Him on Orders Overseas

An active-duty sailor had a son who lived with him full-time due to the biological mother’s substance abuse and history of incarceration. Despite this, the mother sought child support from the sailor in court. The sailor also received military orders to relocate overseas during this time. In addition to challenging the child support action, he wanted to modify his existing custody order to allow him to bring his son abroad, but the move was coming up very quickly.

The servicemember visited a legal assistance attorney, who referred his case to the ABA Military Pro Bono Project so that he could be connected with a local attorney. The volunteer attorney worked quickly to have the child support case dismissed. With the sailor’s relocation fast approaching, the pro bono attorney filed for an expedited Temporary Relocation Hearing, which was granted. This allowed the sailor and his son to relocate without any delays. Shortly thereafter, the attorney was also able to get an updated custody order, so that the boy could stay with his father long term.