Effective late November 2025, Pennsylvania’s Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act provides service members with stronger protections when deployment disrupts custody arrangements.
What Changed?
On October 27, 2025, Governor Shapiro signed Act 2025-40 into law, replacing Pennsylvania’s previous military custody provisions with a comprehensive framework based on the Uniform Law Commission’s model act. If you or your co-parent serves in the military, these changes directly affect how custody is handled during deployment.
Who Does This Law Cover?
The new law covers a broader range of service members than before. It applies to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, Pennsylvania National Guard, Merchant Marine, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and NOAA Commissioned Corps. Deployment is defined as movement to a location for at least 30 consecutive days under orders that don’t allow family members to accompany the service member.
Key Protections for Deploying Parents
Courts Cannot Penalize Military Service
One of the most important provisions: courts cannot treat a parent’s past deployment or possible future deployment as inherently negative when determining the child’s best interest. This prevents the non-deploying parent from using military service against you in custody proceedings.
Two Pathways for Temporary Custody Arrangements
The law creates two ways to handle custody during deployment. First, parents can enter into a written agreement that temporarily modifies custody without going to court. Second, either parent can seek a court order for temporary custody arrangements. Both options are designed to be flexible and protect the child’s relationship with both parents.
Delegation to Family Members
Deploying parents can now delegate their custody time to nonparents who have a “close and substantial relationship” with the child. This typically includes stepparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins. It can also include other adults who have served as primary caregivers. This means your child can maintain important family relationships during your deployment.
Electronic Testimony
If you cannot appear in court due to deployment, the law requires courts to allow testimony by phone, video conference, or other electronic means. Your absence due to deployment cannot, by itself, justify modifying a custody order.
Notice Requirements
Deploying parents must notify the other parent within 72 hours of receiving deployment orders (or as soon as circumstances allow). Both parents must then provide a custody plan within 120 hours. These requirements ensure both parents can prepare for the transition.
When You Return
Temporary custody arrangements automatically terminate 60 days after the deploying parent gives notice of return, unless both parents agree to end them sooner. The law also guarantees returning parents reasonable contact with their children during this transition period, even if it exceeds their pre-deployment custody time.
What You Should Do
If you’re a military parent facing deployment, review your current custody order and consider whether a written agreement or court order would better protect your parental relationship. If you’re currently in a custody dispute with a service member, understand that the law now provides specific protections that courts must follow.
Contact our office (412.303. 9566) to discuss how these changes affect your specific situation. Military custody cases require careful attention to federal and state laws that interact in complex ways, and early planning can prevent problems down the road.
