Military life creates special challenges that become even harder during divorce. When one parent serves in the military, moving frequently and deploying overseas can make regular custody plans difficult.
With careful planning, kids can stay close to both parents, even when one is serving in a far off country.
Tips for parenting plans for deployed parents
Creating a fair parenting plan means understanding how military duties affect family time. Your plan needs to cover both regular custody when everyone’s home and special arrangements during deployments or temporary assignments.
Courts want to see specific plans for who will care for the children during deployments. This is usually the other parent, but sometimes stepparents or grandparents, too.
Military families do better with flexible schedules instead of strict ones. For example, avoid strict terms like “every other weekend.” Instead, try wording it as “up to 10 days per month when not deployed” for greater flexibility.
Include clear rules for holiday visits that work with military leave schedules. Additionally, it’s a good idea to have requirements for both parents to share schedule changes as soon as the military parent receives new orders.
Staying connected with virtual visitation
Washington courts now support virtual visits for military families. These digital connections help deployed parents stay involved in their kids’ lives:
- Video calls: Set up regular video call times that work with different time zones
- Text and email: Include rights to text or chat messaging, email and social media communication
- Watching events: Allow the military parent to watch school events or sports games through video
- Special apps: Consider co-parenting apps to share schedules and updates more easily
- Sharing pictures: Create rules for sharing photos and videos of what the children are doing
- Playing games: For older kids, consider including multiplayer online gaming as a way to spend fun time together
- Saving videos: Decide whether parents can record calls to watch later during times with poor internet
Your plan should clearly say what each parent must do to make these digital connections happen.
A fair plan for happy kids and co-parents
A good military parenting plan balances legal protection with practical flexibility. With the technology available today, it’s become easier to schedule online visitations and ensure your child gets quality time with your deployed co-parent.
With the right approach, you can protect your parental rights while giving your children stability and connection despite the challenges of military life.
