Members of the military often experience challenges that civilians don’t when they divorce. That’s particularly true if they have children and face the possibility of deployment.
This past October, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a law that will help service members maintain parental rights and access even if they have to be deployed for a time. The Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act, which passed unanimously in both houses of the state legislature, makes Pennsylvania the 18th state to enact such a law.
What does the law do?
The law prohibits parents and courts from permanently modifying child custody and visitation orders because a parent is deployed to another location. Parents can seek temporary custody arrangements before deploying to allow someone else, such as a grandparent, aunt or uncle, to assume their parental rights while they’re deployed. When they return, the previous order is reinstated.
The law also prohibits courts from using a parent’s military status against them when determining custody or visitation rights. Further, it allows parents to participate in any custody-related hearings remotely (via videoconference or other electronic means) if they’re unable to be there in person and encourages families to allow deployed servicemembers to communicate with their children this way.
The law was championed by a state lawmaker who is a retired Marine. He said, “This law ensures military parents are protected from unfair custody decisions during deployment and reaffirms that their service is a point of honor, rather than weaponizing that service as a means of harming the parent-child relationship.”
While this law gives parents who serve in the military added protections from having necessary temporary custody and visitation changes become permanent, these parents still face numerous challenges during and after separation and divorce. Getting experienced legal guidance as early as possible is especially crucial to protecting their rights.
