Child Visitation for Military Parents

During a military divorce, some of the most challenging topics involve children. Child custody is a disputable topic that leads to the question of visitation rights. The U.S. Military member deserves to retain visitation rights of his or her child. The non-deploying parent may have to make arrangements that allow the child to visit the parent while away. The deploying parent may have to provide leave orders as soon as possible to the parent who is not currently involved in military service.

Visitation Standards

There are certain standards that must be followed when a parent is deployed so that relationships are maintained. First of all, the child should have accessible availability so that the parent can talk with the child while on leave. This means that the child should be able to receive phone calls, email, and web cam communication. When the service member does not have custody, the child does not have to be visited by the family members of the soldier.

A difficulty of military divorce and visitation is that the needs of the military needs to be a foremost priority. In a military divorce, visitation rights are often granted based on the best interest of the child. The courts consider many factors that will affect the life of the child.

Some of the factors the courts may take into consideration include:

• The child's preference if he / she is old enough
• The willingness of each party to provide for their child
• The willingness to provide accessible contact to the other party
• Any abusive / criminal history records and criminal conduct

These considerations are often made when deciding visitation rights and developing a parenting plan. Courts ultimately consider what will be the best interest of the child.

If you are interested in learning more, contact a military child visitation lawyer to help. Call my firm today!