North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Posted in Children

Published on:

By

Child custody is often a highly contentious topic in family law because of both parents’ and guardians’ strong desires to spend as much time as possible with their child. If you currently have a permanent custody order in place, you may be able to have it amended. However, while it is possible for custody orders to be changed by the court, it is not something you can request on a whim; you must adhere to strict legal requirements.

North Carolina Requirements

Permanent custody orders require two elements in order for there to be a valid reason to amend them, which are:

Continue reading →
Published on:

By

Child support is an important aspect of providing for the needs of a child after a separation or divorce. It is essential for both parents to contribute to the financial needs of the child, and the state of North Carolina has established guidelines for determining the amount of child support to be paid. The calculation of child support is based on several factors, chief among them is the parent’s income, earnings, and relative ability to pay.  Continue reading →

Published on:

By

In most cases here in North Carolina, child support has been reduced to an equation based upon guidelines that have been approved by the state. It is much like filing taxes—there are inputs for each parent’s income, the number of children, and the custodial schedule. Schedules are then used to determine the obligation for support. There may be certain line items that add or subtract from one parent’s obligation. In some circumstances, the court (or a parent) may see fit to depart from the guidelines, in which case a separate set of standards is used to calculate support; this is called deviation. In these cases, the actual expenses for the children are factors in determining the support obligation. Actual expenses are not typically part of the formula in guideline cases. However, there exists one category in the guidelines that does account for expenses. It is called extraordinary expenses. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

As the son of President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden has been under intense scrutiny for his personal and professional life. One aspect of his life that has received a lot of attention is his child support payments.

Hunter Biden has fathered five children with three different women. His first child was born in 1993 with his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle. The couple divorced in 2017, and Hunter was ordered to pay $37,000 per month in child support and alimony. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Custody and parental rights are understandably sensitive topics, which is why having an experienced North Carolina custody lawyer on your side can make a difference. Determining custody of a child is a challenging process. There are numerous laws and considerations that are factored into a custody decision, and one recent case from the Court of Appeals in Forsyth County shows how complex these cases can be. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

When you file a claim for child custody in North Carolina, both parties must attend the Custody Mediation and Visitation Program pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.1.  Upon completion of this program, the matter may then be set for hearing if the parties are unable to come to an agreement during mediation.  There are circumstances where the Court will waive the mediation requirement.  Those circumstances will not be analyzed in this blog.   

  Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Selph v. Selph, 2023-NCCOA-______ (2023) (unpublished). 

  1. Facts: Plaintiff and Defendant married in December of 2017 and separated on July 20, 2021. They had one child together, which was the subject of a custody action. Plaintiff retained counsel to handle custody, whereas Defendant proceeded on his own. The two ended up negotiating custody and voluntarily agreed on a schedule for permanent custody. This agreement was drafted, signed, notarized, and then entered by the court as a consent order. The contents of the consent order included a paragraph that memorialized the parties consent to enter into the custody schedule. This consent order allowed for Defendant to have visitation with the child at the Plaintiff’s discretion. Defendant appeals. 

  Continue reading →

Published on:

By

When it comes to child custody, the court has the authority and discretion to consider a wide array of factors to further the best interest of the child standard. One such factor is the physical and mental health of the parent. Impairment of one parent in a child custody dispute that stems from alcohol or substance abuse may raise a number of legitimate concerns about that person’s ability to parent.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth announced the end of their marriage on Friday, March 24, 2023.  According to sources, Witherspoon filed the paperwork in the Circuit Court of Davidson County near their home in Nashville.  The Oscar winner and super-agent have one son together, Tennessee James, age 10.  Additionally, according to the paperwork, the couple have a prenuptial agreement.  In preparation for the end of their marriage, the couple have been splitting their assets for some time.  They have sold properties and their production company, Hello Sunshine.  Now, the couple are focused on working out a custody arrangement for their son.   

  Continue reading →

Published on:

By

IN RE: A.W., 2023-NCCOA-________ (2023). 

  1. Facts: Orange County DSS received a report for domestic violence that occurred in September 2018, where Father dragged Mother into another room by her hair, struck her in the back of the head, threw her against a wall, and essentially choked Mother until she lost consciousness. Their child witnessed this violence. Father then sent threatening messages to Mother, wherein he made threats to kill Mother or the child. Father was criminally charged for his conduct. While a domestic violence order of protection was granted to Mother against Father, the two continued to have contact. DSS filed a petition. A hearing for TPR was eventually held where the trial court terminated Father’s parental rights on the grounds, among others, that the child was neglected. Father appeals. 

Continue reading →