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EspañolIf the parent with residential custody or visitation rights is in the military and gets deployed, what happens to that parent's custody or visitation?
If a parent receives military deployment orders that require them to move a substantial distance from their home, or the military deployment orders would affect their ability to exercise parental or visitation rights, then the judge may be able to:
- temporarily assign their custody and visitation rights to the child’s family member, including a step-parent, or another person with a close relationship to the child; and
- decide whether or not assigning residential time or visitation rights is in the child’s best interest.
The judge cannot assign residential time or visitation rights to a person who would otherwise not be allowed to have those rights, such as a parent who committed child abuse. For more information about in what situations a parent would not be able to get these temporary visitation or custody rights, see our section called When the parent or someone who lives with the parent is abusive.
Any assignment of custody or visitation rights during the deployed parent’s absence does not give the temporary caretaker (custodian) the right to file for a separate custody or visitation order.1
1 R.C.W. § 26.09.260(12)
