CHILD CUSTODY LAWYER CHARLOTTE, NC

There are two categories of child custody: physical custody and legal custody.

• Physical custody refers to the time the children spend with each parent.

• Legal custody refers to decision making authority over significant matters regarding minor children such as educational, medical and religious decisions.

The term "custody" applies to custody and visitation, as visitation is a lesser form of custody. Some states set forth specific factors for the court to consider when determining custody of minor children. North Carolina is not one of them. In North Carolina, the standard for determining custody of minor children is "the best interest of the child", which is a broad standard. The benefit of this broad standard is that the court can consider any factor relevant to the best interest of the child.

Matters such as the historical parenting roles, whether one parent has been the primary caregiver, the work schedules of the parents, each parent's involvement with the child, any special needs or considerations regarding the child, the parents' ability and willingness to communicate with each other and co-parent effectively, issues of domestic violence, and whether one parent has unreasonably denied access to the child, are examples of factors the court would consider in making a child custody determination. Any circumstance or conduct which would likely impact the present or future of the child may be relevant to the child custody determination.

The policy in North Carolina is to promote the involvement of both parents in a child's life. Physical custody may be joint or one parent may be awarded primary physical custody.

Legal custody may be joint, permitting both parents to be actively involved in the decision-making process with respect to significant decisions. In most circumstances, parents with joint legal custody have equal decision-making authority. When parents are unable to co-parent effectively, or one parent persists in excluding the other from the decision-making process, the court may award one parent sole legal custody or final decision-making authority.

Children should have the benefit of spending time with both of their parents. No parent should have to face the fear of not knowing when the next time they will see their children will be.

One common misconception is that mothers have superior rights with respect to custody of minor children and fathers have more limited rights. Fathers often feel a a sense of defeat or hopelessness when it comes to establishing child custody.

North Carolina's child custody laws are gender neutral. As such, fathers have the same rights as mothers. The standard for determining child custody is the "best interest of the child".

The best interest of the child standard applies to the physical custody schedule as well as legal custody. Legal custody addresses how major decisions such as education, religion and medical treatment will be decided.

Under most circumstances, both parents should be an active participant in the decision-making process when it comes to their children. Likewise, both parents should have the opportunity to spend as much time as possible with their children.

Contact our female child custody lawyer in Charlotte NC to learn about your parental rights and how to protect and enforce them.

Natural parents have constitutionally protected rights regarding the care, custody and control of their children. However, custody and visitation rights may be granted to a non-parent under certain circumstances.

Because natural parents have superior rights with respect to their children, a nonparent seeking custody of the child must prove a significant relationship with the child before the nonparent can challenge the parent's constitutionally protected status.

The best interest of the child standard applies in all child custody cases. However, in a case between a parent and a nonparent, the nonparent must prove that the parent has waived the parent's constitutional rights before the court can reach the best interest of the child determination. A parent waives the constitutionally protected rights by being unfit, neglecting the welfare of the child, or acting in a manner inconsistent with the parent's protected parental status.

A grandparent may seek visitation when the child has been adopted by a stepparent or relative if the grandparent has a substantial relationship with the child. A grandparent may also seek visitation with a child under certain circumstances when there is an ongoing custody dispute between the child's parents.