People who are in the military are bound by rules and guidelines that civilians don’t have to follow. One of these is that parents in the military must have a family care plan on file with their commanding officer. This document doesn’t replace the parenting plan. Instead, it’s meant to provide instructions for what will happen to the children if the service member is deployed or incapacitated.
Understanding the family care plan may help you get it all set so you can rest assured that your command knows what needs to happen with your children if something happens to you.
Guardian designation
The family care plan sets a guardian designation for the children. This could actually be more than one person. In some cases, the plan will include a short-term designee who can get the children quickly in an emergency. This person should live close to the base and be readily available to step in if necessary. They may only have to keep the children until the long-term guardian arrives.
The long-term guardian for the children will likely be their other parent. There are a couple of exceptions to this. The first is that the other parent doesn’t have any parental rights. Another is that the other parent is also deployed or training.
The parenting plan that’s set when you go through the child custody case is what will govern things related to your children. You should ensure that this is set in a manner that’s best for the child. As their needs change, modifying the plan is possible. Working with someone who’s familiar with service members going through these matters is important because they can assist you in finding solutions to the challenges that come with military life.
