Perhaps no one appreciates the time spent with family members as much as the servicemen and servicewomen of the armed forces. Because they may spend much of their time away from home, they understand how precious every moment spent with a loved one can be. And this is especially true if that loved one is the service member’s son or daughter.
It can be hard for a military parent to get time to be with his or her child and this situation is even more difficult for parents who are divorced. Since their visitation time is limited, noncustodial parents can miss more opportunities when they are deployed or called on for temporary service. But fortunately, the state of Texas has laws in place that can help military parents get back some of their visitation time after they return from deployment.
If you have a court order for visitation that was issued in Texas, you can request that the court allow you extra visitation time to offset the time you missed. In looking at your request, the court will consider the best interests of the child. If the court looks favorably upon your request, it may grant you a measure of makeup visitation.
Maintaining a bond is important for both you and your child. Spending time apart can make it more difficult to keep your relationship as strong as possible. If you need the court to issue you additional visitation time after a deployment, a Texas family law attorney may be of service. In addition to makeup time, there are other visitation-related rights that you as a parent have and an attorney could work to see that you are afforded those rights.