When active duty servicemembers have family law cases which outline parenting time with children, the challenges are more complex. After all, while all parents have a right to spend time with and even serve as the primary residential placement for a child, an active duty servicemember’s obligations to the US Government may make it impractical or impossible.
If an active duty servicemember believes that they are the parent in the best position to provide for the child(ren)’s primary care, then they must make it known to the military and the Court. Thus, a good first step after contemplating how the child’s time will be divided is to create both a family care plan and a parenting plan.
Family Care Plan vs. Parenting Plan
The first thing to understand is the difference between a family care plan and a parenting plan.
A Family care plan is a document filed with the military that outlines where the child is living and who the child will live with in the event that certain military assignments come up. As part of your family care plan, you could provide a copy of the Court-approved parenting plan. Many of the branches of the military require parents to have designated Family Care Plans.
A Parenting Plan is a document filed with the Court that outlines how the child(ren)’s legal custody will be designated, where the children will primarily reside (or if the parents will be sharing the children’s residential placement) along with several other provisions that determine how the child’s time and the responsibilities for the child are divided. At the beginning of a case each party files a Proposed Parenting Plan. However, once there is a decision either the parties will agree to a Parenting Plan or the Court will approve one of the proposed parenting plans.
Navigating Arrangements with Relocation or Deployment
Active duty servicemember parents have a right to spend time with their children. A court approved parenting plan will outline when parents spend time with their children and may include provisions for how that time is changed if the servicemember is deployed or receives Permanent Change of Station orders. If changes have arisen since the parenting plan was approved, an active duty servicemember can ask the Court to modify the parenting plan or even ask the Court to allow them to relocate the child.
When the Court is asked to modify a parenting plan, they consider all factors to determine what is best for the child. You will want to provide the Court information about the following:
- Deployments: where the child will reside during times that you have stretches of deployment
- Temporary duty assignments or trainings: who will provide care for the child during the time, in particular, make certain to explain what will happen when a temporary duty assignment or training is scheduled during the children’s school year
- Permanent Changes of Station: identify what will happen to the child if you receive a change of station that upends the child’s current life
Even when the Court assigns an active duty servicemember the right to be the primary residential placement of the child, it is important to understand that the other parent also has the right to care for the children. Thus, the other parent should have the opportunity to care for the children when the active duty servicemember parent is fulfilling a military obligation unless the other parent agrees or the Court has ordered it in the children’s best interest that the other parent not have parenting time.
Contact Our Dedicated Attorneys for Help with Service Member Custody Battles
If you have more questions about how your military service will impact your parenting time, contact the experienced family lawyers at Addair law. We will happily provide personalized legal counsel towards building your case.