SB 792 Summary

• Enacts the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act as Arkansas Code Title 9, Chapter 21, establishing procedures for managing child custody during military deployment lasting 90 days to 18 months.

• Allows deploying service members and other parents to enter temporary written agreements allocating custodial responsibility during deployment, specifying caretaking authority, decision-making authority, contact frequency, and child support obligations.

• Permits courts to issue temporary custody orders granting caretaking or decision-making authority to nonparent family members or individuals with close relationships to the child, with limits on authority unless agreed by both parents.

• Prohibits courts from considering a parent's past or potential future military deployment alone as a factor in custody decisions, but allows consideration of significant impacts from deployment on the child's best interests.

• Establishes automatic termination procedures for temporary custody arrangements 60 days after a deploying parent provides notice of return from deployment, unless parties agree to earlier or later termination.