Custody

If you will be deploying, you may temporarily give (delegate) some or all of your custodial responsibility to your spouse (the children’s stepparent) or another family member.¹

You can do this by signing a “power of attorney.”¹ This is a legal document that gives another person the power to act for someone else in certain matters.

However, you may only do this if:

• there is a court order granting you sole legal custody; or
• there is a court order currently in effect that prohibits contact between the other parent and the children, such as a protection from abuse order.¹

¹ 51 Pa.C.S.A. § 4614(a)