North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Tagged with third party custody

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Few family law matters are as contentious as child custody or as distressing as child abuse. Custody battles between biological parents can become intense as parties sometimes passionately disagree about what’s best for their child. These disputes increase in complexity when third parties seek custody due to parental neglect or abuse.   Continue reading →

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Webb v. Jarvis, 2022-NCCOA-499 (unpublished).

Facts:

This is a case for non-parent custody. Defendant Jarvis and Sarah Webb had a child together. They were not married. The parents shared custody of the minor child pursuant to a parenting agreement. In 2015, Sarah Webb unfortunately passed from cervical cancer. At the time Sarah died, she was living with her sister, Tina Peatross, the other Defendant in this case. Presumably, Sarah Webb exercised her custodial time at the Peatross home.

Before Sarah Webb died, she expressed her wishes that the minor child live with Peatross. Jarvis consented to Webb being a guardian for the minor child. In 2017, Jarvis was arrested for drug related charges and attained habitual felon status; it was his custodial weekend when he was arrested. Plaintiff Sarah Webb’s mother and father (minor child’s maternal grandparents) filed for visitation in 2017 prior to Jarvis’ arrests. Peatross counterclaimed for custody. Jarvis filed a motion to dismiss based on standing.

The trial court in 2020 found that Peatross had standing, and that Jarvis had acted inconsistent with constitutional parental rights. Jarvis appealed. Continue reading →