Separation agreements in North Carolina are intended to lay out agreed-upon terms for spouses going through a divorce, and they are sometimes seen as a placeholder until a final decree of divorce can be entered. While it is possible to incorporate a separation agreement into a final decree in North…
Calculating the amount that a child’s primary caregiver is to receive in child support payments can be complicated. Beyond just comparing the two spouse’s incomes, courts often weigh factors like work expenses, childcare expenses, health insurance premiums, transportation costs, and other expenses. Knowing which of your daily costs will count…
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…
There are some situations in which a non-parent may be required to pay child support in North Carolina, but there are strict requirements that must be met. In most cases, non-parents are not obligated to pay child support. A recent Court of Appeals case dealt with this issue, stating that,…
North Carolina child support is calculated using various elements like the needs of the child and the custody arrangements, but income is one of the most significant factors in child support determinations. In most cases, the income each parent presently and actually earns is used to calculate support obligations. However,…
Subject matter jurisdiction is the right of a specific court to hear a case and make rulings on the issues. In child custody cases, North Carolina uses the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which says that jurisdiction can be established in the following ways: Initial child custody…
Modification of child support may be an option if there has been a material change in circumstances. Parents often use a change in income to justify a recalculation of child support, but this is not always a relevant reason. Groseclose v. Groseclose Father in Groseclose v. Groseclose had previously been…
Court orders cannot typically require nonparties to act. When a court issues an order, the requirements of the order involve only the plaintiff and defendant or the petitioner and respondent. People who are not named in the case cannot generally be ordered to do anything. If the court determines that…
Y Michael Yin, JD GREEN V. CARTER, 2024-NCCOA-______ (2024). Facts: The case involves two women, Mother and Partner, who had an on-and-off romantic relationship and planned to have a child together through IVF. Although only one woman gave birth and was listed as the mother on the birth certificate due…
Any parent over the age of 18 whose rights have not been terminated has an obligation to financially support their children. If you are going through a divorce, have recently separated from your child’s other parent, or are involved in a child support matter for any other reason, it can…