Unfortunately, those serving in the armed forces suffer from a large variety of marital problems. Forced separations combined with the stress of deployment affect service members as well as their spouses and children. When these issues cannot be resolved, many military marriages sadly end in divorce.
Getting a divorce can be complex regardless of your status, but for active-duty military families, divorce is especially complicated. All military branches do what they can to help families through divorce. One way they do so is by requiring all families to create a family care plan. When deployment occurs, these plans address the care and the rights of children born into military families.
The family care plan helps the deployed service member protect his or her parenting rights (and the rights of military children) during deployment. The plan can also address child-centered legal matters like the custody and care of a child if a couple decides to get divorced.
A service member must first create the plan and then have it approved by his or her commanding officer. As you might expect, these plans need careful consideration to be effective and to be approved. Some of the issues you can address in a family care plan include:
- The kind of care you want your child to have
- Provisions detailing your wishes if your child needs medical care
- Designating both a short-term and a long-term childcare provider
- You can even include bank account information
Saint Louis County service members typically benefit from legal assistance when they need to create or update a family care plan. Acquiring authoritative guidance from a lawyer ensures fast approval of the plan. Best of all, it can ensure that you have addressed all the needs of your children if divorce becomes inevitable. This can allow you to serve your country secure in the knowledge that your kids get the care they need until your return.
