North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Posted in Children

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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 determinations in North Carolina. This procedure is optional but may be of benefit to you and your situation. By registering a child custody order in this state, a parent can send a child to another state without concern that the state will not enforce the order if the parent in this state refuses to return the child.  Continue reading →

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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 the court’s orders for holiday visitation. Time often tends to get away from us when we are spending time with our children and families. If your court order says that a custodial exchange shall occur at a specific place or time, ensure that you are mindful of being prompt. Failing to follow the judge’s orders, especially if your relationship with your former partner is contentious can subject you to being in contempt of court and payment of the other parent’s attorney fees.

The only way you may not have to follow a court-ordered schedule is if the child custody order contains language that allows the parents to make mutually agreed-upon schedule changes. The best advice, if the order permits the parties to make changes, is to keep proof of the agreement to deviate from the custody order in writing by either email or text message. Remember that once you agree to the change in the schedule, you should abide by those changes just like the change was in the court order.

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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. Continue reading →

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Toussaint v. King, COA19-851 (2020) (unpublished).

In North Carolina, a court has the ability to incarcerate a party for not following a court order. This procedure is called civil contempt. In order to send a party to jail for noncompliance, the court first must find specific facts. For one case of civil contempt for failure to make child support payments, the court did incarcerate the father. Continue reading →

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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 a Kansas man challenged his Iowa ex-wife to a trial by sword fight to settle their child custody dispute, it appeared that there may indeed be something new under the sun.

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Devine v. Devine, (No. COA19-913) (unpublished)

Here in Greensboro, business owners are not immune to unhappy marriages. Divorces can be long and complicated messes, especially when the fortunes of the family rest upon the fortunes of the business. Child support and alimony are based partly on the income and expenses of the parties going through divorce. In the case below, we discuss how one court, which presumably lacked business experience, incorrectly calculated a party’s income. Continue reading →

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Link to Comments from Superintendent Contreras

As we’ve written before, the plan is still to begin the school year on August 17, with complete remote learning. Some parents, especially co-parents who share custody, may have concerns regarding the technology that will be used for the remote learning, such as, what if I don’t have internet at home? Or what if I don’t have devices? Or what if I have devices/internet, but my co-parent does not. On August 11, 2020, the Guilford County School Superintendent Sharon Contreras gave comments regarding the reopening procedures for schools, including some news on technological issues. Continue reading →

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All too often in the divorce process, couples become so focused on dividing marital assets, locating funds, and getting back at the spouse that has wronged them that their focus on the most critical part of their marriage gets overlooked. Children, the one part of the couple’s marriage that should be the central focus, get lost. Most people have heard that children are resilient, they bounce back quickly, and they adapt to change well. While all of those can be true, nothing in the equation of divorce is the fault of a child, and parents should remember that children have feelings too. Continue reading →

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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. Continue reading →

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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 are eager to experience a change of scenery from the all too familiar rooms of their own home. However, staying at home has become the new norm. It appears we will have ample time to become even more acquainted with our home offices as Guilford County Schools recently announced the 2020-2021 academic year will begin with remote learning through at least October 20, 2020.  Continue reading →