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Military parents need a family care plan as part of a divorce

On Behalf of | Sep 23, 2019 | Family Law |

Military families share a great deal with civilian families, but they also have unique issues to deal with, such as deployments, reassignments, training and more. Military life can put quite a strain on a family, and some marriages do not last. When a couple goes through a military divorce, they also have unique issues to address, even when it comes to child custody.

Military service members who become newly single parents must create and submit a family care plan to their commanding officers for approval. The plan must provide instructions and provisions for the care of a service members’ children should they be deployed. The short-term and long-term caregivers cannot be military members, so they may be unfamiliar with how military life works.

For this reason, the family care plan must include details regarding the use of military treatment facilities and other services for the benefit of the children. The plan should include details regarding the children’s daily routines, their medical needs and their school requirements, just to name a few. Caregivers need to know where important documents such as military IDs, medical records, wills and others are located. They also need contact information for family, family readiness programs, medical providers, military unit contact and anyone else caregivers may need to contact.

These are just some of the items addressed in a family care plan. Anything caregivers need to know about the children should be in this plan. A military divorce with children works much as it does for civilians with some notable exceptions, including this plan. Making sure service members comply with all of the civilian and military requirements can easily feel overwhelming and frustrating. Fortunately, they do not have to go through the process alone. Choosing a Washington divorce attorney with experience in military divorce could prove invaluable.

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