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Deployment Cannot Be Used Against You in a Custody Case

The codified law says it directly: a court may not consider a parent's past deployment or possible future deployment in itself. The one exception is written just as plainly — where, on return, either the service member or the child shows a substantial and material change of circumstances that adversely affects the ability to care for the child, the best interests of the child decide. The same chapter provides an expedited hearing and testimony by electronic means.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The codified law says it directly: a court may not consider a parent's past deployment or possible future deployment in itself. The one exception is written just as plainly — where, on return, either the service member or the child shows a substantial and material change of circumstances that adversely affects the ability to care for the child, the best interests of the child decide. The same chapter provides an expedited hearing and testimony by electronic means.

What it's worth: A statutory bar on treating past or possible future deployment as a custody factor in itself, plus an expedited hearing and testimony by electronic means for a deploying parent

  • The section states that a court may not consider a parent's past deployment or possible future deployment in itself.
  • The exception is stated in the same section: where on return from the deployment either the service member or the child exhibits a substantial and material change in circumstances that adversely affects the service member's ability to adequately care for the child, the best interests of the child are determinative.
  • The chapter provides for an expedited hearing where a motion to grant custodial responsibility is made in the deployment context.
  • The chapter allows a party or witness who is not reasonably available to appear personally to give testimony by electronic means.
  • The chapter allows a court to grant caretaking or decision-making authority to a nonparent during a deployment.
  • The chapter provides both an agreement route, by which parents designate custodial responsibility in writing, and a court-order route for a temporary grant during deployment.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are in this state.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

From what you have told us so far, you appear to qualify.

How to claim it

  1. 1Quote the section by number if deployment is being raised against you. The bar is statutory and specific — a parent's past deployment or possible future deployment, in itself, is not a permitted consideration.
  2. 2Understand the exception before you rely on the rule. It bites on RETURN, and it turns on a substantial and material change of circumstances affecting the ability to care for the child. That is a real test, not a formality.
  3. 3Ask for the expedited hearing rather than waiting for the ordinary listing. The chapter provides for it in the deployment context and courts do not offer it unasked.
  4. 4Ask to testify by electronic means where you cannot reasonably attend. The chapter allows it, and a motion that says so up front is far more likely to be granted than one made from overseas at short notice.
  5. 5Use the agreement route where you can agree. Designating custodial responsibility in writing before you go is faster, cheaper and less adversarial than a contested motion.
  6. 6Consider whether a nonparent should be named. The chapter allows caretaking or decision-making authority to be granted to a nonparent during deployment, which matters where a grandparent or a stepparent is the person actually caring for the child.
Form
A written agreement between the parents, or a motion in the custody proceeding
File with
The circuit court handling the custody matter
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
Worth knowingNot every state that enacted this uniform act kept this section. It is the single most useful sentence in the chapter for a parent facing a custody dispute, and it exists here in the statute book rather than only in case law.
CorrectionThe bar is on deployment "in itself". It does not stop a court weighing the practical consequences of a deployment on a child's day-to-day life, and a parent who reads it as a blanket shield will be disappointed.
Known gapThe remaining sections of the chapter — agreements, notice duties, termination on return — were seen in the section list but not read one by one this session. A parent with a live case should have a lawyer read the specific sections against their order.

Sources

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.