North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Tagged with custody

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M.E.G. v. C.P., unpublished (2021).

It is not unheard of for one parent to move out of state. If the parties have minor children together, then the question is which parent is primarily going to have custody of the children. Many factors may come into play when making the determination. One set of parents in New Jersey tried to negotiate a relocation in an agreement. In this case, we see just how a court treats such agreement. Continue reading →

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Lewis v. Lewis, No. COA06-599

 

Benjamin Lewis (“Ben”) and Gina Lewis (“Gina”) married on January 1, 1994 and had two children.  Ben and Gina divorced on August 17, 1998.  On June 26, 1998, Ben and Gina executed a separation agreement wherein they agreed to exercise joint custody of the minor children.  The separation agreement was incorporated in the divorce judgment and stipulated that the children would reside primarily with Gina and spend every other weekend and summer vacation with Ben.  They further agreed that Ben would pay half of the children’s uninsured medical and dental expenses and $200.00 each month as additional child support to Gina.  Both Ben and Gina went on to remarry, and as a result of Gina’s remarriage she moved to Yuma, Arizona.  On August 14, 2000, Ben filed a motion in the cause seeking a modification of his visitation schedule with the minor children, asserting that a substantial change in circumstances had occurred due to Gina’s move to Arizona. Continue reading →

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Gray v. Holliday, COA20-425 (May 2021) (unpublished).

In Greensboro, grandparent visitation rights may be awarded if the Court deems it appropriate. This often happens by intervening in the custody battle being fought by the custodial parents. But what happens when one of the parents passes away before the custody issue is resolved? Or what happens in a case where there is no underlying custody litigation, and a grandparent wishes to begin one? Continue reading →

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Warren DSS v. Gerrelts, No.COA20-868 (June 2021).

This is an oddity of a case. Civil procedure has an interesting quirk called choice of law. It is an intensely fact-driven area of law that is still being actively researched and written about. Just the mere mention of the Erie Doctrine is probably enough to evoke trauma induced flashbacks to law school for many practicing attorneys. Put simply, since the state courts are courts of general jurisdiction, a state court sometimes has to apply another state’s law. Below is an interesting case about artificial insemination, paternity, and child support arising from a case where there are multiple states involved. Continue reading →

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Handerson v. Wittig, No.COA20-924 (July 2021).

Modifications to child custody orders require a substantial change in circumstances affecting the welfare of the child. The change in circumstance is the gatekeeper. That alone will not amount to modification; the court still needs to determine if the change in circumstance affects the welfare of the child and if modification is in the child’s best interest. We see below that the Court has written about what kind of evidence is insufficient to support a change in circumstance when it fails to link with the welfare of the child. Continue reading →

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Craven County o/b/o Jessica L. Wooten v. Adel Hageb (No. COA20-442)

 

Defendant Adel Hageb (“Father”) and Plaintiff Jessica L. Wooten (“Mother”) were never married but were involved in a romantic relationship. Mother gave birth to a child in 2016 and another child in 2017. After it was determined that Adel was the biological father of both children, the court consolidated the two child support cases and ordered Father to provide health insurance coverage for both children and pay Mother $2,554.00 per month in child support. Then, on September 9, 2019, the issue of permanent child support came on for hearing.  The court found Father to have a gross income of $19,454.39 per month. Additionally, although two children born of another relationship lived full-time with Father, the court gave Father credit for one child because Father’s name was not listed on the birth certificate of the other child.  Father timely appealed.  Continue reading →

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Graham v. Jones, 270 N.C. App. 674 (2020).

In North Carolina, grandparents have the ability to have their concerns for custody and visitation heard by the courts. Our statutes allow any parent, relative, or other person claiming a right to custody to institute an action for child custody. Grandparents are relatives of the minor child, and thus have standing to file for custody. But the laws surrounding grandparent custody and visitation are extremely nuanced as a result of being developed over many years of case law. Below is one case that summarizes this area of law. Continue reading →

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Browne v. Browne, 101 N.C. App. 617 (1991).

Child support in North Carolina is most commonly determined by using the presumptive guidelines. We have written about the use of the guidelines in the past, such as here. But not every case will be a guideline case. The guidelines themselves indicate that certain high earning families (as of today the upper limit is $360,000) are automatically removed from guideline consideration. But what if you believe your custody case – which is not a high-income case – ought to be nonguideline? Continue reading →

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June is National Children’s Awareness Month.  This month brings awareness to children’s safety and well-being and provides the perfect opportunity to generate awareness on child abuse and neglect.  Just recently, U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, announced that they have reintroduced the Safe Home Act to protect adopted children from unregulated custody transfers (UCTs). Continue reading →

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Family law and child custody have once again been brought to the forefront of Hollywood news with the recent announcement that Judge John Ouderkirk has decided to award Brad Pitt joint custody of his children with Angelina Jolie.  The decision applies to five Jolie-Pitt children who are all under the age of eighteen (18).  A recent filing revealed that Jolie planned to appeal the decision, although sources say she does not object to the joint custody decision but instead objects to “other issues that are of concern.” Continue reading →