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NC Custody Law Amendment

10/25/2015

5 Comments

 
North Carolina Custody Law Amendment
On October 20, 2015 Governor Pat McCrory signed NC Senate Bill 519, which amends custody statutes in North Carolina. The true effect of this change is open to debate. Some custody lawyers opine it is merely a preamble to the statute regarding policy, whereas others see it is a substantive change to the law. Whether the NC Court of Appeals will weigh in on this amendment remains to be seen.

Looking at the big picture, the amendment is likely a first step towards joint custody as a presumption under the law. The old idea that a child needs a “home base” and is better off living primarily with one parent is shifting to towards the modern view that children need equal or at least significant time with both parents. The current “best interest” standard appears more guided by whether a Judge subscribes to the old view versus the modern view resulting in dramatically different custody rulings among different counties in North Carolina.
The idea for NC Senate Bill 519 started after several fathers in Sampson County, NC were awarded very limited visitation with their children. They contacted their local State Senator Brent Jackson whose staff researched the issue and determined that the default customs of each Judicial District were very different across the State of North Carolina. That led to further communication with Wake Forest Law School of Law and the NC Institute of Government that both advance the idea that new research indicates that children need to spend significant time with both parties and that is what is best for children.

The old “home base” model often results in dad, who is typically the non-custodial parent only being awarded every other weekend for visitation. Sometimes the non-custodial parent also is entitled to a dinner on their “off” week. Union County, Sampson County and other rural counties often subscribe to the older “home base” model in determining the “best interest” of the minor child/ren when awarding custody. Larger counties such as Mecklenburg County and Wake County seem to prefer joint physical custody often via a week-on/week-off schedule between parents. Hence there is often a giant disparity in custody outcomes between cases in Union and Mecklenburg County even though they are adjoining counties.

The original version of the bill allegedly mandated a 65% vs. 35% division of overnights between parents absent specific findings to deviate. Johnston County, NC appears to favor this approach at the moment. After significant resistance to explicitly changing the law, NC Senate Bill 519 was eventually changed to a policy statement regarding child custody. Once again the ultimate question until further action by the legislature is what the NC Court of Appeals is going to do with a policy statement regarding custody that is now written into the law.
5 Comments
Denise Barker
12/30/2015 10:12:22 am

I think the children should get the home and the parents need to rotate in and out each week. Children need a stable home.

Reply
Jason Witt
12/30/2015 11:10:59 am

That creates a whole new set of problems. Would you really want to be forced to share a home with your EX for 18 years?

Reply
Alicia {Pace
12/30/2015 11:26:16 am

I believe this is a good thing. I think this can stop some parents who have more money from going in and telling all these lies and throwing their lawyers around knowing that the other parent can not afford a lawyer every other month to fight back. The kids gets the time they need with both parents instead of one parent taking the other out of the kids live and hurting the kid.

Reply
Crystal Dellinger
11/17/2021 07:07:31 pm

I feel like the courts should take more time to review matters instead of making bias decisions abs taking child ten from mothers who are domestic violence victims abs the allowing the other parent to abuse mother abs child through the court system cause she doesn’t have money to to hire an attorney

Reply
Anonymous
12/31/2015 01:00:35 am

I think both parents getting the child is a great idea. I believe it's not fare for the non custodial parent to pay Child Support and only see the child on occasion. If they both had joint the child gets to have both parents equal time and they both pay the same amount to support the child.

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  • Home
  • Firm Info
    • Contact Us >
      • Directions to Monroe office
    • Attorney Profiles >
      • Jason D. Witt
    • Fee Schedule
  • Family Law
    • Child Custody
    • Child Support
    • Divorce
    • Property Division
    • Alimony and Post-Separation Support
    • Separation Agreements
    • Domestic Violence Protective Order
  • Criminal Law
    • Traffic/DWI >
      • Traffic Tickets
      • Suspended or Revoked License
      • Driving While Impaired
    • Misdemeanors
    • Felonies
    • Expungements
  • Other Areas
    • Bankruptcy Law >
      • Personal Bankruptcy
      • Chapter 7 vs. 13
      • Bankruptcy Myths
      • NC Bankruptcy Exemptions
      • Bankruptcy Means Test
      • Bankruptcy Disclaimer
    • Debt Settlement
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  • Blog