On Saturday, the Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed that COVID-19 related domestic travel restrictions set to expire next month will be extended to late June. The restrictions apply to all DoD military members, civilian personnel, and dependents assigned to DoD installations and facilities in the U.S. and its territories.
Among those impacted by the restrictions are Armed Forces servicemembers and reservists in Arizona who are co-parenting minor children. And many of those parents are trying to balance the military’s COVID-19 travel orders with civilian court orders which dictate parenting time and legal decision-making rights.
Longtime family law attorney Danette Pahl says the military’s travel restrictions can turn parenting orders on their head, particularly those involving one parent who resides outside the servicemember’s restricted travel area.
“In my particular practice, we have had several cases dealing with parenting time issues where the primary custodial parent resides out of state,” Pahl said. “Under Arizona law, parents are entitled to have frequent, meaningful, and continuing contact with their children. This is now impossible if one of the parents is in the military and the child lives outside of the restricted area.”
In Cochise County, the most immediate problem is the inability to bring a dependent child to Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista if the child has been living or visiting more than 60 miles away from the installation.
Since April 7, all servicemembers assigned, attached, or performing duties at Fort Huachuca are prohibited under General Order 1 from traveling more than 60 miles away except for authorized official travel or medical treatment for themselves and family members. The restricted area includes Tucson and the Tucson International Airport.
The Order also prohibits intentional contact between servicemembers and those coming into the Sierra Vista area from outside the 60-mile local area. It also prohibits military personnel, whether residing on or off-post, from allowing individuals from outside the local area to visit their residence. It also applies to civilians who reside on Fort Huachuca.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the scope of the travel restrictions for personnel at Fort Huachuca have been revised significantly,” said Pahl, noting that the local area was initially 200 miles, then 100 miles, before the current 60-mile area took effect.
“While the restriction initially applied only to the servicemember’s travel, it now prohibits in-person contact with their child if that child has been outside of the restricted travel area,” Pahl said, “It is detrimental to both the parents and the minors.”
Exceptions for “compelling” situations can be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with consideration given to “extreme hardship,” according to DoD policy. But travel issues aren’t the only challenge facing military families across Arizona.
State laws, not federal, govern child custodial agreements and disputes. And custody cases in which one party is in or connected to the military can differ from such cases between non-military parents, Pahl says.
“A military servicemember is required to follow guidelines established by the Department of Defense and their command,” Pahl noted. “Therefore, while a civilian is free to travel from let’s say Sierra Vista to Tucson to exercise their parenting time, the servicemember is currently prohibited from doing so. There is a disparity in the freedoms that non-military and military citizens are afforded at this time.”
The travel restrictions may also interfere with some parenting time orders which require the exchange of a child on a specific date or by a specific mode of transportation that are now impractical or impossible.
That is why, Pahl says, the Arizona Supreme Court is encouraging parents to work together “even if coordinating parenting time or making adjustments to exchange locations becomes more challenging in the days and weeks to come.” And the court is asking parents to respect the spirit of any arrangements, especially if one parent cannot safely adhere to the order at this time.
But absent an “imminent danger,” Pahl says it is never advisable to violate a valid court order, even if one parent doesn’t agree with how the other parent is reacting to COVID-19.
“The court has advised attorneys about the guidance to give to our clients,” she said. “It states that a parent is not permitted to deny parenting time based upon the other parent’s unwillingness to discuss precautionary measures taken, or belief that the other parent’s precautions are insufficient.”
Pahl says she understands custody issues can have a negative effect on how parents interact, and that the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic can exacerbate those actions.
“Family law is an area where we see a lot of emotion, and this is especially true regarding children’s issues,” Pahl said. “I have a saying I frequently share with clients, and it is that the difference between a criminal defense attorney and a family law attorney is that criminal defense attorneys see bad people at their best, whereas family law attorneys may see good people at their worst.”