Filing for divorce in Texas is difficult for anyone, but it poses a particular set of problems for military families. When you, your estranged spouse or both of you are in the military, the professional requirements can make figuring out a custody agreement even harder. If you’re in this situation, you should create a family care plan for your children.
What is a family care plan?
If you’re going through a military divorce, you might not know what will happen to your children if you or your estranged spouse gets deployed. After one of you ships out, you won’t be able to trade off parenting duties anymore. For this reason, the law requires you to make a family care plan.
A family care plan explains what will happen to your children if you get deployed, and you can enlist the help of a divorce attorney to draw one up. You’ll need to name a short-term caretaker who can be called upon at any time of the day or night to look after your children. This person must be located near your base. You’ll also need to choose a long-term caretaker who can take care of your children for weeks or even months at a time. This individual does not have to be local. Neither of these people can be military personnel on active duty.
In your family care plan, you must also include instructions for taking care of your child while you’re away. This should cover a plan to transport the child to the new location, necessary medical information, access to finances and anything else you feel is important. You could also give the caretakers power of attorney over your children.
How can you get through a military divorce?
A military divorce presents various challenges, rules and regulations that aren’t associated with an ordinary divorce. For military families, just filing for divorce can be a hassle. An attorney could help you file the paperwork and get the process started. They could also help you with challenges that are unique to military divorces, like creating a family care plan.