Holiday travel and child custody issues are often sources of contention between parents. Ensure that your custody order allows you to travel out of state with your children before leaving your state. Suppose there is no language to prevent either parent from taking the children out of the state. In…
Articles Posted in Custody
Registration of Foreign Orders: Mandatory or Optional?
So you’ve moved to Guilford County from Florida and up until your move you and your ex-spouse have been operating under a child custody order that was entered by a judge in a district court in Florida. Now what? North Carolina General Statutes § 50A-305 provides guidelines for registration of…
Child Custody at the Holidays
With the 2020 holidays rapidly approaching, newly separated and divorced parents may be experiencing increased stress over when and how to deal with spending the holidays sharing their children. The first thing to remember is that if you have a child custody order entered by the court, you must follow…
Domestic Violence, Child Custody, and Visitation
In Jordao, the North Carolina Court of Appeals reviewed N.C.G.S. § 50-13.2 and how the statute requires the trial court to evaluate all relevant factors, including domestic violence in determining if custody and visitation is in the best interest of a child. Jordao v. Jordao, No. COA19-858 (N.C. Ct. App.…
Child Custody and Trial by Combat
We all love a good Mulan-esque warrior story with a happy ending. Family law attorneys have seen it all and are the warriors and champions of family law related issues. Delving into the chaotic family disputes that clients present daily means almost nothing could come as a surprise. Yet, when…
Child Custody and Mediation and What You Should Know
If you plan to file a child custody action in North Carolina, you will be required to participate in a Custody Mediation Program. Each district in North Carolina has specific operational procedures laid out in their local rules, and the rules for each county can be viewed online at www.NCcourts.gov.…
Modifying Child Custody: Grandparents vs. Parents
We’ve all seen videos such as this one on the highly addictive TikTok app depicting parents dropping their kids off at Grandma and Grandpa’s house to achieve some much needed alone time. Ever since the Piedmont Triad began experiencing the monumental effects of COVID-19 in early March, both kids and parents alike…
Does My Ex’s Character Matter in Custody?
Steele v. Steele, 36 N.C.App. 601 (1978). In North Carolina and nationwide, character evidence is generally inadmissible in civil trials. Evidence of character and past conduct is not indicative of future conduct and cannot be used to prove that a party acted or will act in conformity with that character…
Getting Custody Back From the Grandparents
In North Carolina, a parent can lose custody over their minor children to the children’s grandparents. One way this can happen is by Order of the Court in a child custody proceeding. Child custody is never permanent, and below we discuss a way for parents to regain custody by motion…
Custody, Contempt of a Court Order, and Concerns for Health and Safety
Davis v. Davis, 748 S.E.2d 594 (N.C. App. 2013) Here we examine a North Carolina Court of Appeals case where the Defendant appealed the trial court denial of a motion to modify custody and a motion to hold the Plaintiff in contempt of court. For this article, we will focus…