North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Tagged with custody lawyer

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AMAN V. NICHOLSON, 2023-NCCOA-________ (2023). 

  1. Facts:  Plaintiff and Defendant are parents of a minor child. They separated in fall of 2019. Plaintiff filed for custody, and a temporary order was entered. The temporary order granted joint legal custody (decision making) and primary physical custody to Plaintiff, visitation to Defendant. It further required each party to obtain and exchange psychological evaluations and to attend counseling. Eventually, the custody matter was set for trial in spring of 2021. On the first day of trial, Defendant provided a list to Plaintiff containing three expert witnesses that he planned on calling to testify. Defendant also provided the witnesses’ CVs and the written reports of two of the witnesses.  Plaintiff objected and wanted to exclude the expert testimony. The trial court agreed, and entered an Order that excluded Defendant’s three expert witnesses from testifying. When trying to settle the record on appeal, Defendant wanted the CVs and written reports of the experts included, while Plaintiff objected to their inclusion. In judicial settlement of the record, the trial court ordered that the reports and CVs not be included. Defendant appealed. 

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Gilleland v. Adams, 2023-NCCOA-9 (unpublished) 

Facts: Defendant gave birth to a child in 2017. Plaintiff claimed he was the father and filed for custody. Defendant filed her answer and also a motion to dismiss, citing to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure and arguing that Plaintiff could not bring a custody case because he was not the father. The parties consented to get a court-ordered paternity test. Plaintiff was revealed to be not the child’s biological father. Plaintiff then amended his complaint and alleged that Defendant had acted inconsistent with her right to be a parent and that it was in the child’s best interests to have custody with Plaintiff. The trial court conducted a hearing on the motion to dismiss. The trial court heard from witnesses and received exhibits. Defendant’s motion to dismiss was granted. Plaintiff appealed.  Continue reading →

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Last year came to an end, but not before Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were able to close the chapter on their formerly wedded life and settle matters associated with their divorce.  It is reported that Kardashian and West will share joint custody of their four children – North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.  Despite this, sources close to Kardashian report that she will continue to have the children approximately eighty percent (80%) of the time.  The settlement also outlines West’s monthly child support payment, which is $200,000.00 per month.  Additionally, West is responsible for covering fifty percent (50%) of the minor children’s educational expenses (i.e., tuition), and security expenses.   

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Ouléye Ndoye, former wife of Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, is demanding he submit to questioning as their child custody battle continues.  Ndoye’s accusations say Warnock has failed to render proper custody of the parties’ minor children during his days of their agreed parenting schedule.  Warnock’s work-related obligations have resulted in extended periods of travel for Warnock, leaving him unavailable during his agreed custodial time.  The parties’ parenting schedule awarded Warnock two weekdays per week, which he is no longer able to fulfill.

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In October 2022, the North Carolina Court of Appeals addressed whether a parent who hasn’t had contact with their child because the child had been actively removed and hidden from them still has their constitutional right to parent their child. Continue reading →

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As many families gear up for Halloween with their children, religious concerns about the holiday have led to an increase in “Fall Festivals” or “Trunk or Treats” to provide more religious families with an alternative to a traditional celebration full of ghosts and ghouls. During this time of year, religious tensions about acceptable activities for kids can come up between divorced parents with different religious beliefs. What is a parent to do when they can’t agree with their ex about their child’s religion? Continue reading →

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Divorce is difficult, and even more so with children involved. It can be especially difficult when the children have unique needs. The stresses of divorce can have an increased impact on these children, and their special needs can have a major impact on custody and child support. As a parent, you are in the best position to know what your child needs, and it is your job to show the court what those needs are and to be honest with yourself about your ability to meet those needs. Continue reading →

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How often have you heard someone claim their grandmother was Native American? What about Italian? More people around the world claim to be Irish than there are people in all of Ireland! The lure of knowing where you come from has led to an explosion in commercial testing services like 23 & Me. As technology has advanced and databases of genetic profiles have grown, so has the information that those commercial genetic tests can provide. This includes health information and wide nets of genetic relatives you may have never known about. Everyone is familiar with genetic testing in custody and child support cases, but learning one’s genetic parentage can lead to a host of issues beyond custody and child support. Continue reading →

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For a non-legal parental figure in North Carolina, custody of a child is a complicated issue. North Carolina doesn’t have statutes that specifically address custody for a non-related, non-adoptive parental figure, so the courts have to rely on case law – cases that have been decided and explained by the Court of Appeals or the NC Supreme Court – to determine what the rules actually are for granting custody to a third party, such as a non-legal parent. Continue reading →

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As in any traditional family, no one goes into a family with three or more parents expecting it to fall apart but, like any traditional family, separation is always a possibility down the line. For those persons who live in a state that doesn’t allow them to become a legal parent to their child, such as in North Carolina, there are steps that a non-legal parent should take to help protect their custody rights should the worst happen. Continue reading →