Despite what some people think, Texas military divorces really aren’t that different from civilian divorces. State law is still what determines how you divide your property and what happens with your children.
However, there are special considerations that military service members and their spouses must factor into their divorce proceedings. Benefits, changes in pay and housing complications are all common in military divorces because of the military benefits and pay structure that factors in the family.
Your family may need to address changes in your living situation and income when establishing your parenting plan. If one parent is an active-duty service member possibly subject to deployment or ongoing training requirements, there is also a special custody concern that you need to consider.
A deployed or training parent won’t have parenting time
Your custody arrangements will need to have two separate sets of instructions. One will be for your current circumstances and another for when the service member might have to undergo training at another base or face deployment elsewhere.
The chances are good that their ex-spouse and children will not travel with them during training or deployment, which means the parenting plan will need to include virtual visitation requirements to preserve the bond between the service member and the kids. Virtual visitation rights allow a parent to spend as much time as is reasonable and permissible given their status with the children via modern technology.
Including this along with standard time-sharing rules will help your family prepare for any possible future situation without needing to go back to court. Adding virtual visitation to your custody plan is one of the ways to make the terms of your divorce more appropriate given your military service or the service of your spouse.