As a military member, you may have particular concerns about how your military status could affect child custody. While you have every right to feel concerned about custody issues, it may help you to understand that your status in the military alone should not directly affect the decisions made. Military family or not, custody decisions should revolve around the best interests of the children.
Custody basics
As with any case of child custody, you must consider certain basics. Parents or the court must decide whether joint or sole custody could work in the children’s best interests and which parent should retain primary custody of the children. Though the other parent may try to use your military status as a reason to deny you primary custody of the kids, that tactic should not hold up.
Military impacts
Of course, your status in the military cannot go fully overlooked. The possibility exists that you could face deployment or reassignment that causes you to leave the state or the country for extended periods of time. Therefore, you will need to consider this possibility and determine how it could work into your custody agreement.
Additionally, the military does not allow single parents to join the service. However, if you, as an existing servicemember, become a single parent, you will undoubtedly face issues that need your attention. This situation could arise through divorce, and if it does, it’s important to understand your options.
Family care plans
Military members must create a family care plan in the event of deployment, but a divorce could impact the plan already in place. Therefore, you must remember to adjust those plans and gain modification approval. Additionally, because these plans play such a significant role in the care of your children, you may want to incorporate your plan into your custody agreement to avoid unnecessary complications.
Legal assistance
Because child custody proceedings can prove difficult to navigate under any circumstances, you may wish to gain assistance to ensure that your military status does not unjustly affect your case in a negative way. Consulting with an experienced Maryland attorney with knowledge of military divorce may allow you to feel more confident moving forward.
