When Does a Temporary Custody Order Become Permanent in North Carolina?

Courts in North Carolina often enter temporary orders on child custody because time is of the essence in such an important issue. These temporary orders must be followed until the court makes a final ruling, but temporary and permanent orders are handled differently in terms of requesting changes. Is returning to court for a final ruling the only way for an order to become permanent?

Lawrence v. Lawrence

In the case of Lawrence v. Lawrence, Father appealed a Determination of Permanent Custody Order entered in October 2022, and Mother moved to dismiss his appeal on the grounds of lack of appellate jurisdiction. Father argued that the trial court erred in its conclusion that the consent custody order entered by the parties had become permanent.

The parties were married and had one child before separating in 2018. In January 2019, a temporary custody order hearing was held, and the parties came to an agreement on temporary custody terms. The order that was entered from this hearing contained the terms the parties agreed upon, including:

• That Mother would have temporary primary custody
• That Father would have visitation every other weekend and one evening during the week
• That the order was temporary

Modifications were made to this temporary order in April 2019. The parties attended court-ordered mediation in January 2020, but no agreement was reached during this mediation, and the case was continued numerous times through a series of continuance orders.

In December 2021, a scheduling order was entered that stated a hearing would be scheduled to determine if the temporary custody order had become permanent. In February 2022, the trial court ruled that the temporary order was permanent, but no written order was filed until October 2022.

In this October order, the trial court stated that the parties had been following the terms since the entry of the order in January 2019 and that:

• It was entered without prejudice
• It did not include a trial date for reconvening
• It established an indefinite physical custody schedule
• It determined all pending custody issues

Father appealed the trial court’s ruling that the custody order was permanent. Shortly thereafter, Mother filed a motion to dismiss based on a lack of appellate jurisdiction.

Appealing Interlocutory Orders in North Carolina

Mother states in her motion to dismiss that the custody order was interlocutory, meaning it did not dispose of the case and left further issues remaining to be decided by the trial court. She argued that it was made during a pending matter before the court and that further action was required to determine the issue of custody.

This is relevant in North Carolina because interlocutory orders are not immediately appealable except in limited circumstances, such as in cases where the order affects a substantial right. Mother’s argument in Lawrence is that the order cannot be appealed because it was not a final judgment.

Appellate Court Decision in Lawrence v. Lawrence

The Court of Appeals determined that the original custody order entered in January 2019 was a temporary order. It notes that case law establishes that a temporary order may become permanent through the passage of time if neither party requests a hearing within a reasonable amount of time. In this case, Father filed a calendar request and notice for hearing less than nine months after the order was first entered. Subsequent calendar requests and notices of hearing were also filed by Father. The appellate court determined that this was a reasonable amount of time, and the custody order did not become permanent.

The trial court’s order finding the custody order had become permanent was reversed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings on permanent custody arrangements. An experienced family law attorney can guide you through the complexities of child custody cases.