In custody and visitation cases, grandparents are considered third parties. North Carolina does not allow third parties to seek custody or visitation unless certain conditions are met. First, filing for visitation requires that the child’s family is not intact, which means there must be an ongoing issue like an open custody case or adoption proceedings. Continue reading →
Parents have a constitutionally protected right to take care of their children, which includes making decisions about whom their children will spend time with. It is difficult to overcome this parental presumption. Grandparents who wish to seek visitation with their grandchildren should be aware that there are strict rules in North Carolina about when they can file and on what factors a decision will be based.
In a recent North Carolina Court of Appeals case, Evans v. Myers, Mother appealed after the trial court granted Paternal Grandparents legal and physical custody of her child while only awarding her limited visitation.
Grandparents can only file for visitation during an ongoing custody dispute between the parents or if they can prove the parents are unfit. What happens if the parents’ custody case is resolved before the court has a chance to decide on grandparent visitation? This was the question at the center of a recent North Carolina Court of Appeals case.
Grandparents are inarguably a vital part of a child’s life, but the decision to include them is ultimately up to the parents. It can be devastating for grandparents when contact with their grandchild has been restricted. What are your options as a grandparent for seeking court-ordered visitation in North Carolina?
North Carolina allows grandparents to file for visitation only in certain circumstances. The state allows grandparents to file for visitation only if the child’s family is not intact, which may include the following scenarios:
North Carolina statute allows anyone who claims to have a right to custody of a child to initiate a custody proceeding. Grandparents have a broad privilege to file a custody action, but how likely are they to be successful?
Custody and visitation disputes between parents focus on the best interest of their child, but this is not the standard used when non-parents are involved. North Carolina only allows non-parents to file for custody or visitation in limited circumstances. When these issues between a parent and a non-parent are litigated in court, additional elements must be considered before a parent’s rights are taken away.
The topic of an intact family may come up in some North Carolina custody and visitation cases. Why does this matter? The intact family factor is not relevant to every case, but it is pivotal when a non-parent seeks custody or visitation. The 1995 case of McIntyre v. McIntyre established that, with the exception of cases of negligence or unfitness, third parties like grandparents can only seek visitation rights when the child’s family is not intact or there is an ongoing custody proceeding.
A parent-child bond is more than just an emotional connection; it’s also a strong legal force. In North Carolina, parents have a constitutionally protected interest when it comes to their relationship with their children. Non-parents can be granted custody, but there are strict guidelines for when that can occur.
Extended family members often play an important role in a child’s life. The bond that children share with people such as their grandparents contributes to their development, but it is generally a parent’s decision as to which relationships their children can have.
In North Carolina, parents have a right to determine who their children will spend time with and associate with. This means that non-parents, like grandparents, cannot file for visitation unless certain criteria are present.
It is always tragic when a child loses a parent, but what happens when the parent who passes away is the custodial parent? North Carolina courts must grant custody to someone else, and priority is given to biological parents in most cases.
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