Atkinson & Kelsey Law Firm Blog

New Mexico bill prevents custody modification during deployment

The life of the men and women in the military can often be chaotic and stressful. Frequent travel, training and deployment can interfere in their normal life, especially if they have a family. Furthermore, the complications the military could bring to a marriage are often cited as the reasons for divorce. These complexities do not end when the marriage is dissolved and they often remain when children are involved. A military divorce can be a lengthy process and could be further complicated if there is a struggle reaching a child custody arrangement.

When military members are deployed, there are often several concerns regarding their children. If they are divorced, issues regarding child custody might be present and could lead to bigger problems when they return from deployment. In order to assist military members with these serious divorce issues, the Service Member Child Custody Act was passed in New Mexico.

The passing of this recent bill was primarily done to ensure that child custody arrangement issues did not create a distraction for those deployed. In order to achieve this, the bill prevents any modification to current child custody arrangements while a service member is deployed. Fighting a child custody battle while fighting a war is a major life distraction and could greatly interfere with their personal and professional life.

Dealing with child custody issues is common for those divorcing, but it could easily become a major hurdle for those in the military. While the new bill ensures that no changes can be made during deployment the best interests of the child should always be the focal point. This might mean making major decisions prior to deployment, especially if the divorce recently occurred.

Disputes often occur during dissolution and post-divorce. When disagreements regarding child custody occur, it is important that both parents understand their full situation and how best to address it. For military members, this means when they are not deployed. Those who are struggling with divorce issues or are seeking a child custody modification should gain advice about their options to ensure the arrangement fulfills the best interest of the child involved.

Source: Albuquerque Journal, “New bill protects child custody arrangements,” Patrick Lohmann, March 2, 2014