Child Custody
The unequivocal answer is “no.” Under North Carolina law, child support and visitation are separate matters and a parent’s failure to pay child support is not a legal justification to deny or suspend visitation. Likewise, a parent who is being denied visitation with their child is not entitled to discontinue paying child support. If you are the parent receiving child support, it may be tempting to want to punish the non-supporting parent by withholding their…
Read This Article >>In a family law context, do-it-yourself separation agreements present an area that is laden with potential problems. A separation agreement, which may also be referred to by other names such as a Marital Settlement Agreement or Contract of Separation and Property Settlement Agreement, is a written contract between a husband and wife wherein they reach various agreements related to their marital separation. Some of the dangers of a do-it-yourself separation agreement are delineated below. Many…
Read This Article >>Under current North Carolina law, a judge may issue an emergency custody order changing the living arrangements of a child or awarding one party temporary custody if there is sufficient reason to believe that the child is at risk of bodily injury or sexual abuse, or there is substantial risk that the child may be removed from the state of North Carolina to evade the jurisdiction of the North Carolina courts. Under North Carolina law,…
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There are many reasons why people lie – tell an intentional untruth – during domestic cases. When the stakes are high, such as when someone is faced with losing custody of their child or a spouse whom they still love, it is not surprising that they may embellish or outright lie to try to bolster their case, conceal evidence that may be damaging to their case, or make false allegations to try to hurt or…
Read This Article >>A dispute between parents over child custody or visitation can arise at any time when the child is born outside marriage or there is a separation or divorce. Even if the parents have a verbal agreement or mutual understanding that one parent should have primary physical custody of the child, it is in the best interest of the child and the parents to have a written custody agreement or court order setting forth each parent’s…
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