These days, as more people go through divorce and decide on co-parenting, it becomes increasingly important to allow for options that support co-parents in unique situations. This includes co-parents who may serve in the military.
In such situations, it is important for exemptions to occur. This way, military parents can receive the same rights and avoid some potential downsides associated with long-distance parenting.
UDPCVA and other acts
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, it is not extremely uncommon for divorced family units to have one or both partners in the military. Because of this, these families will have to deal with the potentially abrupt possibility of relocation or deployment. Those in the military often do not have a say over when or where they will get deployed or relocated, and it often happens in a very short amount of time.
Though certain branches of the armed forces make an effort these days to keep divorced parents close to their children, it is not always possible. This is where acts like the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act (UDPCVA) come into play.
The provision of flexibility and protection
Through acts like this, military parents can enjoy a level of flexibility and protection that suits their unique situation. For example, some articles in these acts will allow provisions for making out-of-court temporary custody and visitation changes, in the event of deployment. Other articles protect deployed parents by disallowing the non-military spouse from making permanent custody changes without their co-parent’s agreement.
In these small ways, it gets easier for people to co-parent together even with one serving actively in the military.