Which Parent Gets to Choose Where the Child Goes to School?

By Web Admin | July 10, 2017
Image depicting children in a brightly lit school corridor.

The beginning of a new school year is a time when many parents are faced with making a decision regarding where their child should be enrolled in school. Where a child attends school may impact the quality of the child’s education, as well as the child’s happiness and overall development. Parents often feel strongly about decisions that can have a long-term impact on their child.

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Can a Stepparent Be Required to Pay Child Support for a Current or Former Stepchild?

By Web Admin | June 14, 2017
Image of a bright child wearing oversized glasses and holding a clipboard denoting support of children.

Under North Carolina law, the legal parents (either biological or adoptive) of a child are deemed to be primarily responsible for the child’s financial support. As such, a stepparent has no legal duty to pay child support for the benefit of a stepchild in the event the stepparent’s marriage to the child’s parent ends, either by death or divorce. However, a stepparent who has acted “in loco parentis”

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Grandparents’ Rights to Custody and Visitation in North Carolina

By Web Admin | May 5, 2017
Photograph of a grandfather and preschool granddaughter walking away on a wide path through a path

Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.5(j), either parent of a child or an interested party (including a grandparent) may petition the court for a modification of child custody or visitation in any action in which custody previously has been determined. Under this statute, the grandparent must be able to show that a substantial change in circumstances affecting the welfare of the child has occurred since the entry of the prior custody order.

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