Parenting after a divorce presents many challenges, and those challenges are only compounded when a parent is a military servicemember and gets called to active duty. Massachusetts has a large number of military servicemembers living in the state, and the on-going conflicts in which the U.S. is involved in increase the likelihood that those military servicemembers will be called to active duty. Parents in the military should be aware of how a change in their military statuses can impact their custody and child support responsibilities.
Issues Active Duty Parents May Face
When a military parent is called to active duty, a number of issues can arise with regard to his or her children. Primarily, the parent will no longer have the ability to keep the parenting time schedule that he or she maintained previously. The parent who is called to active duty runs the risk of the other parent using this inability to maintain parenting time as grounds for modification of the parenting time schedule or child support award.
Child support payment can also become complicated while a parent is on active duty. A parent's civilian employer may deduct child support from a parent's check, and if the parent goes on active duty he or she will no longer be working for that employer, and will need to make other arrangements for child support payments. A parent also may earn less while on active duty, and may have trouble meeting his or her child support obligations.
Additionally, parents may need to obtain passports for their military service assignments. Parents who owe more than $2,500 in back child support payments in Massachusetts cannot get passports until they pay what they owe.
Tips for Parents Called to Active Duty
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) offers assistance for parents called to active duty facing some of these issues. Parents with child support orders should contact the Department of Revenue as soon as they receive information about activation. The Department of Revenue can assist with:
- Income withholding: if a parent's employer normally deducts child support payments from the parent's paycheck, the DOR can arrange to transfer the deductions from the civilian employer to the Department of Defense so that child support payments come out of a parent's military pay
- Medical Support: servicemembers are covered by TRICARE when they are on active duty and their other health insurance coverage ends, which could affect the insurance coverage that parents are obligated to provide for their children in child support awards, so the DOR assists parents in enrolling children in TRICARE in order to meet their insurance coverage obligations
- Passport requests: the DOT can arrange payment plans for parents with overdue child support payments to help them get passports they need to go overseas for active duty
- Information release authorizations: if an active duty servicemember would prefer to have someone else discuss child support issues with the DOR, such as a relative or a Massachusetts family law attorney, the parent should contact the DOR to sign a form authorizing the DOR to release information about his or her child support case to the person the parent designates on the form
Parents in the military should also consider filing a contingent parenting time plan that automatically goes into effect if they are called to active duty. This assures they will have a say in visitation schedules and other decisions regarding their children.
If you are in the military and are have questions regarding child support or visitation, it may be helpful to consult an experienced Massachusetts family law attorney who can discuss your situation with you and offer guidance.
