of at least 90 days.14 Ninety days have now expired, and your client understandably wants the trial set.15 What if the soldier is deployed to Afghanistan for a year and her commander has not yet determined when she, or any of the soldiers in the unit, will be able to take leave?16 Leaving initial drafting considerations and other pretrial matters aside for the time being, custody, visitation and support are now your primary concerns. The basic premise in custody17 and visitation18 is constant: the court is to make determinations in the best interest of the child. The military, on the other hand, will not get involved in deciding core issues around child custody. That being said, our soldier’s commander will order her to abide by any valid Arkansas court order with respect to custody and visitation.19 And as with other aspects of a divorce case involving military members, there are special considerations when dealing with child custody and visitation. When deciding how to advocate for custody of children when one or both parents are on active duty, I look at a number of factors: traditional best-interest-of-the-child factors such as educational, cultural, extracurricular
and social opportunities with each parent; relative family support (financial, help with transportation or childcare, etc.) from each parent’s family; each parent’s history with the child; relationships with step and halfsiblings; any adverse personal history of the parent such as substance abuse or cohabita-
tion; and the wishes of the child (if appropriate to the case). For military members, in arguing for custody or the appropriate visitation, I consider: (a) the military parent’s regular duty position, hours and schedule; (b) the military parent’s base, post or regular geographic location; (c) the military parent’s history of past deployments to unaccompanied zones and likelihood of future deployments to unaccompanied zones; (d) transportation issues for the non-custodial parent in getting to the child to exercise visitation or vice-versa; and (e) the military parent’s past direct involvement in the child’s day-to-day life. There are also considerations unique to reservists and Guard members:20 In addition to any and all of the above, for a Guard or reserve member, a lawyer has to consider his or her deployment and training schedule. Does being in the Guard disqualify an otherwise fit and proper parent from being a custody candidate?21 Does the reserve’s training schedule (often the first weekend of the month) mean that a reservist simply misses that time with her children? Also, frequently, a military member will sign a power of attorney or make some other designation of a current spouse to exercise
Exhibit A: 150 combinEd yEArs of impEccAblE ExpEriEncE. (nEEd wE go on to Exhibit b?) Bell and Company has provided expert witness testimonies, economic damage assessment, business valuation and forensic accounting services to legal firms throughout the Southeast. Established by Richard Bell, a certified CVA, CFF, CPA and JD, Bell and Company has assisted in numerous court cases. Many attorneys find our sterling reputation and experience to be valuable assets. Call us, and let’s see what our 150 combined years of expertise can do for you.
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Vol. 48 No. 4/Fall 2013 The Arkansas Lawyer
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