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Custody

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Updated: 
January 11, 2024

Can a parent modify an order due to military duty?

A parent’s absence, relocation, or failure to follow a custody or visitation order due to activation to military duty or temporary duty, mobilization in support of combat or other military operation, or military deployment out of state is not enough, by itself, to justify a modification of the order.1 However, if the military assignment requires a parent who has sole or joint physical custody to move a significant distance from his/her home or otherwise has a significant effect on his/her ability to use his/her custody or visitation rights, the order can be modified.2

1 Ann.Cal.Fam.Code § 3047(a)
2 Ann.Cal.Fam.Code § 3047(b)(1)