Child Custody Considerations for Military Families in South Carolina

Having one or both parents in the military will complicate child custody in South Carolina. The fact that one parent is deployed might have an impact on how the courts view child custody. Contact an experienced Greenville, SC child custody attorney to discuss military child custody. Our firm can provide guidance on your legal rights in the event of divorce or separation.

How Military Child Custody Works

Child custody works for military families in much the same way that it does for civilian parents. If you are seeking a divorce, then you can agree to a custody arrangement with your ex. The same is true if you had a child outside of wedlock. Parents can negotiate custody arrangements and submit them to the court for approval.

Some parents cannot agree to an arrangement, so the court is tasked with deciding custody based on the best interests of the child. That means reviewing many factors, including each parent’s ongoing relationship with the child up to that point, as well as a history of drug use or violence.

Deployment By Itself Cannot Deprive You of Custody

Can a judge deny you custody because you might deploy as a servicemember? Not really.

Under South Carolina Code § 63-15-512, the court may not consider past or future deployment as itself a reason to decide custody. However, the court is empowered to consider how past or future deployments might impact the best interests of your child.

For example, deployment might significantly impact:

• Your relationship with your child. You might see them less while deployed out of state.
• The child’s emotional stability. Your child might become more depressed because you are deployed.
• The stability of the child’s home environment. If you are the primary caregiver currently, then your child could experience disruption when you leave.
• A child’s health. Having a parent gone can negatively impact a child’s physical well-being.

In these and other situations, a judge might consider deployment when determining child custody.

The same principle applies to modifying child custody. A judge cannot use past or future deployment as the sole reason to modify custody or parental visitation. However, the court may consider how deployment might impact the child’s best interest.

If you are seeking a divorce in the military with a child, call our office to discuss how a South Carolina judge will likely analyze your case.

Custody When You Are Deployed

There are many considerations for parents who are ready to ship out or are currently on deployment:

• Notice of deployment. S.C. Code § 63-15-508 requires that you notify the other parent in writing within 7 days of getting a deployment order. You should also provide a plan for who will handle custodial responsibilities.
• Negotiation. Before deployment, parents may negotiate where the child will reside, as well as visitation and child support. Service members are encouraged to avoid waiting until the last minute to think through these issues. You could do that now as part of your divorce.
• Temporary modifications during deployment. A judge may temporarily modify an existing child custody order to accommodate service. The modification will end when the parent returns home.

Our office can help you plan for deployment. We can help you identify who will have custody of the child when away. The sooner you begin planning, the less disruption it will have on your child.

Maintaining Involvement when Deployed

Deployment does not mean you will necessarily be cut off from your children. At a minimum, you can continue to remain involved in your child’s life. Regularly call or text your child.

If you have legal custody, then you may continue to have input on important issues, such as your child’s education and medical care. Maintaining communication with the other parent is critical.

Some parents fear that the other parent will use the fact of the deployment to modify custody. As mentioned above, a court may not consider that factor in isolation. But a judge might consider whether you have maintained contact with your children.

Military Relocation and Child Custody

After a military divorce, child custody issues can still arise. One dispute involves relocation. The servicemember might move to a different base in a different state and want to take the children with them. However, South Carolina does not give a custodial parent the unilateral right to leave with the children.

In fact, the law in our state is complex. There is no single statute regarding relocation. Instead, South Carolina’s courts have considered this issue over time in various cases.

In Rice v. Rice, the court established that there was a presumption against moving children from the state. That means a court is likely to block the move at the request of the objecting parent. However, the parent who wants to move could gain approval by showing that the move would benefit the child.

A parent also cannot modify custody simply because a parent wants to relocate. Instead, the objecting parent needs to show additional factors that cut against the move. For example, the move could negatively impact a child’s health or education.

The court will also consider alternative visitation options if a parent wants to relocate. Suppose the custodial parent is stationed in California. The parent left behind in South Carolina might only see the children for an extended time in the summer months, as well as during the Christmas holiday.

Parents should seek legal help, whether they want to relocate with the children or if they object to the move. Call Elliott Frazier – Family, Personal Injury & Car Accident Attorneys, LLC. We can discuss how a judge might analyze the attempted relocation.

Schedule Your Consultation Today

A Greenville, SC family law attorney with our office is happy to meet to go over your concerns and answer questions. We have represented parents gearing up to file divorce papers, as well as those who already have a custody order in place but need to modify it. We have also represented parents seeking to relocate with children, as well as parents who object to any move.

Call our office to schedule your private consultation today. Our firm has helped those in the 29605 zip code with their family law needs for years.