Emergency Care Plan

• For many military services, an emergency care plan must be created for child custody. The Air Force, for example, requires that military members who are single parents or are married to another military member must have a child care plan in place. This plan must include explicit details for who will have short-term custody in case of no-notice deployment, and who will provide long-term custody as well.
  
  

Divorce

• When custody is an issue because of divorce, child custody will be decided much like during non-military divorce proceedings. The child's preference will be considered for kids of a reasonable age. For all others, the court will decide on what is in the best interest of the child and which parent will best uphold shared contact. Abuse or criminal conduct by either parent will also be considered. Military members must consider this, especially if they will be stationed in a remote location or are the subject of frequent deployments.
  
  

Child Support

• Military members paying child support are mandated to do so and maintain payments. This is mostly accomplished through garnishment. However, there are also limitations as to how much a member must pay, regardless of how many children are involved. Federal law limits child support to no more than 60 percent of military pay and allowances.
  
  

Servicemember's Relief Act

• The Servicemember's Relief Act is designed to protect military members from being sued or presented with legal action while deployed. This can allow the member to focus solely on the mission at hand versus dealing with legal battles. Custody battles are no exception. A military member should remember that, should her ex-spouse attempt to change child custody status while she is deployed, she must invoke this act.
  
  

State Laws

• Because of situations where the Servicemember's Relief Act is overlooked in court, some states have passed their own laws or acts to add extra protection for the military member. California Senate Bill 1082 grants the same military child custody rights to Reservists and National Guardsmen who are deployed. Mississippi also passed a similar law.