North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Tagged with child custody

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During a stage presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last week, Olivia Wilde was handed a yellow envelope marked “Personal and Confidential.”  Wilde was discussing her upcoming film Don’t Worry Darling when the ordeal transpired, confusing both Wilde and the audience.  Out of curiosity, she opened the envelope to see what was inside.  After noting the contents, Wilde continued with her presentation.  Later, sources confirmed that the envelope contained legal papers pertaining to her children with ex-fiancé Jason Sudeikis.

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Maddukuri v. Chintanippu, 2022-NCCOA-128 (1 March 2022)

Stipulations are often used to expedite portions of a case/trial so that there is no time wasted on them, allowing the court to focus on the issues that are actually in contention. The use of stipulations of fact is pretty common. It removes the inconvenience of having to show evidence of facts that no one contests. Stipulations can also be used for settlement. These allow for the concession between parties of some rights in return for others. Below is a case where the Court dealt with the potential withdrawal of a stipulation. Continue reading →

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Wayne Hopper, Legal Assistant

Risen v. Risen, COA19-342 (N.C. Court App. 2020)

The legal term “contempt of court” describes situations when an individual either willfully refuses to follow or otherwise fails to obey a legally binding order issued by a court. North Carolina recognizes two types of contempt: criminal contempt and civil contempt. Criminal contempt is used when a party violates a court order (or otherwise showing disrespect for the court) and to deter future acts of contempt. Civil contempt is intended to provide a remedy for an injured party or to force compliance with an existing court order. But does contempt have limits? In North Carolina a trial court judge threatened two minor children with civil contempt during a custody dispute between their parents. Continue reading →

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Wayne Hopper, Legal Assistant

Graham v. Jones

Child custody issues can be confusing and difficult to navigate. This is especially true when grandparents seek custody of a grandchild. Grandparents find themselves with questions regarding child custody and their rights and often do not know where to begin. Would it be best to seek custody or visitation? What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of each? Which is likely to be more successful? North Carolina case law can answer those questions. Decisions made by N.C. courts establish legal precedents which help guide courts in making decisions on similar issues today. For grandparents seeking custody or visitation due to the death of their own child (a biological parent of the child in question) and parental fitness of the surviving parent, the case of Graham v. Jones may provide some guidance. Continue reading →

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Williams v. Johnson, 2022-NCCOA-120 (2022) (unpublished).

  • Facts: Mother and Father were in a custody case over their minor child. On April 28, 2017, Mother was awarded primary custody, and Father received visitation. A few years later, on August 11, 2020, the trial court modified the custody but later vacated their order, reverting back to the April 28 Order. In October of 2020, Father filed to modify the custody. Linda Key was called on to testify that, for the past three years, she was the caretaker for the minor child. Ms. Key is not a party to this case and has not entered into the case in any form. Trial court granted custody of the minor child to Ms. Key and found that both parents had acted contrary to their protected status as parents. Father appealed.

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s custody battle involving their four children has begun to heat up.  When Kim first filed for divorce early last year, both Kim and Kanye agreed that they should share joint custody of their four children.  Now, it appears the couple is a long way from agreeable terms.

 

It is not the first time Kanye West has taken to social media to air his grievances.  The artist often uses platforms such as Twitter and Instagram in a personal diary manner, posting entries for his millions of followers to read.  Kanye, who recently legally changed his name to Ye, shared a string of since-deleted images and messages about his fears for the safety of his daughter, North West, and allegations against Kim.  A few of the deleted messages are outlined below.

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As COVID-19 persists in our daily lives, the war on vaccines rages on. Many parents continue to disagree about vaccination status concerning themselves and their minor children.  Two parents who currently reside in New Brunswick, Canada, have found themselves in a heated disagreement with each other over vaccines and sought a judge to rule on the disagreement.  The parents, who are not identified in the court ruling, separated in 2019 and share custody of their three children. Continue reading →

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Custody battles sometimes can be bitter affairs between the parents.  In China, it is no different.  Unlike many court orders for child custody in North Carolina, courts in China rarely grant joint physical custody of children to divorcing parties, causing disputes over minor children to be extremely hostile.  The best interest of the child is one of the guiding principles for a judge in North Carolina when deciding how to structure a custodial schedule.  However, in China, judges are of the mindset that keeping children in their existing environment is what is best for their wellbeing. Continue reading →

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Defendant Mother appeals from the trial court’s order on child support and custody.  The Court of Appeals reverses and remands.

Plaintiff Father and Defendant Mother married on January 1, 1994.  The parties had two sons and separated on May 10, 1997.  The parties’ divorce judgment was filed on August 17, 1998, which incorporated their separation agreement.  The separation agreement provided a custodial schedule that directed the parties’ two sons to reside primarily with Defendant Mother and to spend every other weekend and summer vacation with Plaintiff Father.  The agreement further provided that Plaintiff Father would pay half of the children’s uninsured medical and dental expenses and $200.00 each month as additional child support. Continue reading →

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Ex-football star Clinton Portis is in hot water for non-payment of child support. Portis was a second-round pick by the Denver Broncos back in 2002, then was traded to Washington.  He is also a two-time Pro Bowler whose NFL earnings exceeded $43 million during his career until he retired in 2012.  Despite this, Portis filed for bankruptcy in 2015, claiming mismanagement of funds by his financial advisors. Continue reading →