Changes of Duty Location and Child Custody

Deployments and permanent changes of station (PCS) are a part of military life. Service members who are deployed to Fort Leavenworth may be told that they need to relocate. These are parts of a service member’s sacrifice when joining the military. Relocations can present particular difficulties in the child custody context, and they may even require the involvement of the court. Just because a parent must relocate does not mean that they have an absolute right to see their child during that time period.

The best way to handle military deployments and changes of station is to address them ahead of time in a parenting plan. However, a parent may not have been in the military when the couple got divorced, and these situations may not always be addressed in writing. Nevertheless, Kansas law gives some type of relief to military parents who have to move or are deployed, although the interests of the child are still paramount.

Relief in the Law for Relocating Servicemembers

If you were already in the military when you got divorced, the hope is that your custody agreement would include a provision on how to address the PCS. This part of the agreement should specify how the children are able to see the other parent who is not located in the same area. Kansas law provides that this agreement is automatically presumed to be in the best interests of the child, and it can only be overcome when there are specific findings of facts to the contrary based on the individual situation.

Kansas has a specific law on the books that applies to military relocation and child custody. The law gives some form of relief for military parents who are transferred out of the state. In other cases, when a parent fails to comply with a custody order, it would be the basis for a potential future modification that could restrict the parent’s custody or visitation rights. When a military parent is relocated, and they are not able to follow the custody order, there would be some relief insofar as that parent would not lose rights in the future.

Further, Kansas law also recognizes that military parents often do not get much lead time when they are ordered to change duty locations. If there are any custody issues that require the involvement of the court, a judge would hold a hearing on an expedited basis if the military duties prevent the parent from being able to attend a regularly scheduled hearing.

In addition, a military parent can seek to modify their custody arrangement when they return to the area from their deployment or PCS. The law recognizes the importance of these hearings and provides that the court will schedule a hearing and give it precedence over its regular docket. The hearing would occur within 30 days of filing the motion.

However, Kansas common law still applies to the custody situation. The parent who is not relocating can still apply for a modification of the custody order, and the military parent could even lose some custody time when they are away if the proposed schedule is not in the best interests of the child. Nonetheless, the law still provides some relief to the military parent by stating that any modification to the court order is temporary.

Contact a Kansas Family Law Attorney Today

If you have a military-related child custody situation, there are certain additional complexities involved that require the help of an experienced family law attorney. Contact the Kansas child custody lawyers at the Colgan Law Firm, LLC, to schedule a consultation. You can message us through our website or contact us online.