CS for CS for SB 1598 Summary

• Repeals existing statute on temporary time-sharing modification due to military service and creates the "Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act" as part IV of chapter 61.

• Allows servicemembers notified of deployment to enter written agreements with the other parent designating temporary custodial responsibility, with provisions for caretaking authority, decisionmaking authority, and contact with the child during deployment.

• Permits courts to issue temporary custody orders during a servicemember's deployment (more than 90 days but less than 18 months) and allows temporary grants of custody authority to nonparents such as family members if in the child's best interest.

• Prohibits courts from considering a parent's past or possible future military deployment when determining custody arrangements in the best interest of the child.

• Establishes that all temporary custody agreements and court orders automatically terminate 30 days after the servicemember returns from deployment unless the parents agree to an earlier or later termination date, with the deploying parent receiving reasonable contact with the child during the transition period.