Supporting North Carolina Families With Compassion, Skill, and 20 Years of Experience
When a marriage ends or when parents separate, some of the most emotionally charged and difficult decisions involve where your children will live and how they will be raised moving forward. Child custody is one of the most important aspects of any family law case because it directly affects your child’s future and your relationship with them. At the Law Office of Stephen E. Robertson, PLLC, our Greensboro and Durham child custody attorneys understand how overwhelming this time can feel. We are here to support you, protect your parental rights, and help you secure a stable arrangement that reflects what is best for your children.
Child custody disputes require careful strategy, a deep understanding of North Carolina Family Law, and genuine compassion for both parents and children going through significant transition. With more than twenty years of experience in family law, our attorneys have guided parents through simple and complex custody issues, high conflict litigation, mediation, and collaborative law. We work hard to reduce stress so you can focus on rebuilding your life and supporting your children.
How to File for Custody in North Carolina
Understanding how to begin a custody case is the first step toward protecting your parental rights. Whether you are divorcing, separating, or have never been married to the other parent, you have options under North Carolina law.
Who Can File for Custody?
Parents
If you are the child’s biological or adoptive parent, you can file for custody at any time. This applies to married parents, separated parents, and unmarried parents.
Non-parents
In certain situations, individuals who are not the child’s parents may also file for custody. This includes grandparents, relatives, or caregivers who have played a significant role in the child’s life. However, non-parents must meet a higher legal standard. They must show that the parent is unfit or that the parent has acted in a way that is inconsistent with parental responsibilities.
These cases are more complex and require strong evidence. Our attorneys regularly assist grandparents and non-parent caregivers in navigating these difficult situations.
Filing the Custody Complaint
To open a custody case in North Carolina, you must file a custody complaint in the appropriate county. This complaint outlines basic information about the child, both parents, and the type of custody you are seeking. You may also request temporary custody orders if immediate protection or structure is needed.
Parents can technically file on their own, but many choose to work with an attorney due to the emotional nature of custody matters and the long-term impact these decisions have on the child.
Our attorneys can prepare the complaint, file it with the court, coordinate service on the other party, and begin developing a strong strategy for the outcome you want.
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Understanding Unmarried Fathers’ Rights in North Carolina
Unmarried fathers often feel uncertain about what rights they do or do not have. Under North Carolina law, unmarried mothers automatically have sole custody of a child at birth. This does not mean that fathers have no rights, but it does mean they must legally establish paternity before those rights can be enforced.
Establishing Paternity
Paternity can be established in three ways:
- Both parents voluntarily sign an Affidavit of Parentage.
- A court order determines paternity after DNA testing.
- Paternity is acknowledged through marriage if the parents later wed.
Once paternity is established, the father gains the same legal rights and responsibilities as the mother, including the ability to seek custody, visitation, and parenting time.
Establishing paternity also allows the child to receive financial support, benefits, and inheritance rights from both parents.
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The Two Main Types of Child Custody in North Carolina
North Carolina recognizes two primary types of custody: physical custody and legal custody. Understanding the difference between them is essential when creating parenting plans or negotiating custody schedules.
Physical Custody
Physical custody refers to where the child lives. The parent with physical custody provides day to day care, meals, supervision, and transportation. Physical custody may be structured in several ways:
- Sole physical custody: The child primarily lives with one parent.
- Joint physical custody: The child spends significant time living in both parents’ homes.
- Primary and secondary custody arrangements: One parent provides the majority of day to day care while the other receives scheduled parenting time or visitation.
The court may grant shared physical custody when it believes that consistent involvement from both parents is in the child’s best interest. However, joint custody does not always mean equal time. The schedule will depend on the child’s age, school routine, parents’ availability, and other factors.
Legal Custody
Legal custody involves the authority to make major decisions about the child’s upbringing. These decisions may relate to education, medical care, religion, counseling, and extracurricular activities.
Courts often award joint legal custody, meaning both parents must communicate and cooperate when making major decisions. However, in cases involving domestic violence, substance abuse, or a history of poor decision making, a judge may grant one parent sole legal custody.
Our attorneys help parents understand the differences between these forms of custody, prepare proposals that support their goals, and negotiate parenting plans that work for the child’s long term well-being.
How Child Custody Is Determined in Greensboro and Durham
Parents are encouraged to resolve custody disagreements outside the courtroom whenever possible. Many families are able to reach agreements through negotiation, mediation, or collaborative law. These methods allow parents to create personalized arrangements and reduce conflict while preserving their co parenting relationship.
When parents cannot reach an agreement, the matter is decided in court. North Carolina family courts use the “best interest of the child” standard to determine custody.
Factors the Court Will Consider
Judges look at many different factors when evaluating what arrangement will best support the child’s emotional, physical, and developmental needs. Common considerations include:
- The safety and physical well-being of the child
- The child’s emotional bond with each parent
- Each parent’s history of caregiving
- Any history of domestic violence or abuse
- The stability of each parent’s household
- The ability of each parent to meet the child’s needs
- Each parent’s mental and physical health
- The child’s school, community, and friendships
- Any substance abuse concerns
- The parent’s willingness to foster a positive relationship between the child and the other parent
- The child’s preference, depending on age and maturity
Judges have wide discretion, and every case is unique. Even small details about a parent’s work schedule, communication style, or living environment may influence the final decision.
Our attorneys help parents prepare thoroughly by presenting clear evidence, thorough documentation, and compelling parenting proposals that highlight their strengths.
Modification of Child Custody Orders
Life changes. What may have worked for your family in the past may no longer meet your child’s needs today. North Carolina allows either parent to request a modification of an existing custody order when there has been a significant change in circumstances.
Examples include:
- A parent’s relocation to a new city
- Significant changes in a parent’s work schedule
- Changes in the child’s needs, schooling, or health
- Concerns about safety, neglect, or substance use
- Improvements in a parent’s stability that allow more involvement
- Major breakdowns in communication or co parenting
To modify custody, the requesting parent must show:
- A substantial change in circumstances, and
- That the modification would serve the child’s best interest.
Our attorneys help parents gather evidence, prepare motions, and present strong arguments when modification becomes necessary.
Enforcing Child Custody Orders
If one parent does not follow the custody or visitation schedule, the other parent may file a motion to enforce the order. Violations may include refusing scheduled parenting time, not returning the child at the appropriate time, interfering with communication, or making unilateral decisions that violate the custody terms.
Courts can address violations by:
- Ordering make up time
- Changing custody terms
- Requiring counseling or co parenting classes
- Holding the violating parent in contempt of court
Our attorneys help parents take appropriate action to enforce custody orders while keeping the child’s stability at the center of the case.
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Child Custody FAQs in North Carolina
If a parent does not have custody rights, there might still be the possibility for visitation rights. This is when the parent is granted time to visit the child. The courts will decide this based off the best interest of the child. Sometimes supervised visitation is granted if the court sees fit.
Paternity refers to the process by which a child’s biological father becomes the legal father. When unmarried parents have a baby, the father is not automatically recognized as the father legally so extra steps must be taken to establish this.
There are a variety of factors that influence the courts to order child support. This could include how much custody you have of the child, but it also includes both parents’ income, who pays for health insurance and childcare, other expenses, how many children there are, etc.
Again, this depends on a variety of factors including income, insurance costs, number of children, etc.
You should not use visitation rights as leverage against your ex-spouse even if he or she does not pay the required child support. Since these are two separate orders given by the court (or agreed upon outside of the court), you do not want to violate your own court order (visitation) to get child support. Instead, you should bring the appropriate motion before the court to obtain the required child support.
Modification of custody orders requires a court order. You can make an appeal for modification if the circumstances have significantly changed regarding the child since the last order was made. A change in custody must be in the best interest of the child.
Call the Law Office of Stephen E. Robertson, PLLC
If you are dealing with a child custody dispute, please do not try to go through this time alone. Consult with our Greensboro and Durham child custody lawyers to determine how to proceed with your case. We would be more than happy to answer all your questions about custody laws and procedures, and we can walk you through every step of the legal process.
Why Hire Us?
- Results You Can Count On
- Compassionate Counsel
- Over 20 Years of Experience
- Stephen E. Robertson is a Board Certified Attorney