A custody dispute if one or both parents are serving in the military. How does child custody work for active duty military parents? In Michigan, child custody in a military divorce will have to take active duty deployment considerations into account. The military parent’s availability will be taken into consideration by the court when deciding on a child custody arrangement.
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The parent who is serving and striving to safeguard the country will not be punished by the court. Therefore, the child custody judgment will take into account the specifics of a military deployment and give the parent access to their child.
What’s the Truth About Our Enlisted Personnel in the Service Branches?
Of the total combined strength of 1.3 million active duty members of the service branch of the military, 36.1% are in the Army, 25.6% in the Navy, 24.7% in the Air Force, and 13.6% are in the Marine Corps.
Of the total strength 82.4% are enlisted, 17.6% are officers. The average age of enlisted personnel is 27 years old. The average age of officers in the service branch is 34.4 years old. 82.8% of our active duty members are male and 17.2% are female.
The well-being of service personnel is of concern to the U.S. government because of the sheer size of its personnel in this division of the government alone. Family issues can affect the mental health of enlisted personnel. Divorce and custody issues can affect the members of the military service branch of government.
Our enlisted men and their officers are people. They get into relationships. They marry and they have children. They have families just like anyone. Just as there are marriages, there will be divorce and the consequent child custody that follows.
According to research, military couples divorce more frequently than civilian marriages. Supervisors of first-line enlisted troops had a 30% divorce rate, according to the Census Bureau’s Public Use Microdata Sample and MarketWatch.
Three of the top ten careers where a divorce took place were in the U.S. military. According to reports, divorce rates were much higher for people who worked with air weapons or in tactical operations.
According to research by the Census Bureau, the average age of divorce is 30, and 41% of divorces involved first marriages. Stress, problems with mental health, and a lack of funds all played a role.
Divorce rates were greater for service members who were deployed far from home, according to the Journal of Population Economics. Working in hazardous environments can cause stress or sadness, which can make it difficult for a couple to communicate as easily as they did when they first met.
In 2019, there were over three times as many divorces among female troops as among male ones, according to data released by the Pentagon to Military.com. Officer divorce rates were 1.7% compared to 3.5% for both male and female service personnel.
According to statistics, divorce rates are higher among enlisted soldiers under the age of 30. The lowest divorce rate, 2.8%, was among Navy personnel. 2019 saw a 3.3% marriage breakup rate among enlisted Marines and Air Force personnel.
What Is the Legal Context of Child Custody in the Service Branch?
Prior to September 2015, a military parent involved in custody disputes could permanently lose custody of his or her child while on active duty. The military parent’s deployment was admissible as proof of their absence from the child’s life and from judicial procedures. As a result, this made it possible for a non-military parent to get permanent custody of the child. A military parent would have to reappear in court to argue for custody after serving their country for a while.
The Michigan legislature introduced two additional laws to the Child Custody Act specifically to safeguard military parents after seeing the disadvantage faced by such parents.
Non-military parents are no longer permitted to file any motions for change of custody while the military parent is deployed, according to the new law, MCL 722.27. The court is also precluded from establishing a new order or even altering an existing one regarding the child’s long-term custody. However, a court may make a temporary custody order that lasts only for that time frame.
Military parents are required to notify the court within 30 days of their return from deployment. After then, the court will give the military parent custody of the child in the same way as before the deployment. In reality, custody will remain unchanged throughout both deployments.
Michigan is subject to the Servicemember Civil Relief Act, according to the Michigan Guide for Military Family Law published by the Michigan Department of Attorney General and Thomas M. Cooley Law School Center for Ethics, Service, and Professionalism. According to the SCRA, if one parent files for a change of custody while the other is serving in the military, the deployed parent may request a stay, which the court must approve.
The custody arrangement that was in place on the day the military called the parent to deployment cannot be changed by a new order that the court issues during the parent’s deployment.
If the parent who stays can prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that doing so is in the child’s best interests, the courts may grant interim custody. However, in accordance with the MCAA, the courts must reinstate the custody arrangement that was in place before the deployed parent’s active service assignment. The MCAA and SCRA both aim to avoid military parents experiencing disadvantages as a result of their service to the US.
How Will Child Custody Be Decided During My Deployment?
The judicial system cares about your child’s welfare. It can be more difficult if you frequently relocate or travel abroad. The courts will nevertheless do their best to reach a decision on a plan that promotes your connection with the child.
It might be beneficial for military members involved in a custody battle to sit down and draft a Family Care Plan with the other parent. A healthy compromise is conceivable and even likely if both parties are prepared to put their egos aside and concentrate on the child.
There will need to be responses to queries like, “Where does the child live when you are away from home?” if you are granted primary or joint custody. or “What would happen if you moved?” To negotiate agreements, the judge will deal with both you and the other parent.
What Is a Family Care Plan?
It can be difficult for anyone to split up parenting duties after a divorce or separation. Uncertainty regarding upcoming overseas deployments or domestic assignments for military personnel can make the problems more difficult.
Every couple going through a divorce should have a parenting plan outlining how they will split up the parenting and care of the children after the divorce. It’s especially necessary and can be practical for you to create alternative parenting plans if you’re in the military and unsure of where you’ll be stationed or for how long. Prepare a visitation schedule that is in line with the service member’s anticipated spare time, for instance, if he or she may continue to live close to the children’s home.
Prepare a strategy that you’ll use if the service member is moved or deployed abroad at the same time. Communication is crucial since, oftentimes, service members are unsure of what will occur. It is crucial to relay to the other parent all the information that is currently accessible and to create backup plans that will protect your family no matter what.
When both parents share custody of a child and only one parent is in the military, the civilian parent will typically look after the child when the service member is absent. However, when the military parent has sole custody, many states view a change in custody to the other parent as a change in custody. As a result, it’s not unusual for the court to permit the military parent’s new spouse or another relative, such as an aunt, uncle, or grandparent, to act as the child’s guardian during deployment if the military parent is the sole custodial parent.
When one parent, or both parents if there are two parents, are responsible for raising a child, the military has regulations that must be followed. In the following circumstances, a family care plan is necessary:
[a] A service member is a person who is not currently married and who is the sole parent of a child under the age of 19 or who shares custody with another parent.
[b] Children under the age of 19 are in the custody of both serving parents. The same Family Care Plan must be signed by both parents.
[c] A service member is the only caregiver for a child under the age of 19 or an adult family member who is unable to take care of himself, such as a spouse or other family member who is disabled.
Any service member who finds themselves in one of these circumstances must immediately inform the military. The service member then has 60 (for active duty personnel) or 90 (for reserve personnel) days to submit a formal Family Care Plan to a commanding officer.
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