A custody dispute can touch on every part of your life as a parent. You might be worried about your relationship with your child, your ability to make important decisions for them, and what the future holds for your family.
At Caulder & Valentine Law Firm, PLLC, our child custody lawyers in NC have over 25 years of combined legal experience with these cases. Our attorneys practice family law in Lincoln, Gaston, and Cleveland counties, so we understand the local courts and the judges who preside over them. You can count on us to utilize that insight and tailor our services to your family’s specific needs.
Contact us today to discuss your case with a North Carolina child custody attorney who can help you develop solutions that work best for you and your child.
Understanding Child Custody in North Carolina
North Carolina child custody laws divide custody into two categories:
- Legal custody refers to a parent’s right to make major decisions about their child’s education, healthcare, religion, and more.
- Physical custody refers to the right to spend time with the child, including living arrangements and visitation schedules.
Courts may award legal or physical custody solely to one parent or jointly to both. For example, parents with joint legal custody must consult one another before making significant decisions, whereas sole legal custody allows one parent to make decisions independently.
Common Child Custody Arrangements
Every family’s schedule looks different, and North Carolina courts allow parents to structure custody in whatever way best fits their children’s needs. Common custody and visitation arrangements include:
- Primary residence with scheduled visitation – The child lives with one parent most of the time, while the other parent has regular, structured time with them, such as alternating weekends.
- Week-on, week-off – Parents alternate full, uninterrupted weeks with the child.
- 2-2-3 rotations – The child spends two days with one parent, two days with the other, and three days back with the first – and then the schedule flips the following week.
The Child Custody Process
Here’s how the NC child custody process typically goes:
- The process begins when a parent or other qualified party files a complaint for child custody.
- Once the other parent is served with the complaint, the case typically is set for an abbreviated temporary custody hearing to establish a custody schedule for the parties to follow until they can either reach an agreement on all the details of their parenting arrangement, including holiday schedules and other various provisions the parties may need to govern the co-parenting arrangement.
- Following the initial hearing, the case moves to mediation and this will be ordered by the Court. That’s where a neutral mediator helps the parents work toward a complete and comprehensive parenting agreement.
- If the parties can resolve their disputed issues through mediation, they can work with their attorneys to submit a written child custody agreement to the court. A judge will then incorporate the agreement into an enforceable order.
- If the parents can’t reach an agreement, the case proceeds to a full trial, where a judge reviews all the evidence and testimony before deciding child custody matters themselves.
How North Carolina Courts Determine Child Custody
North Carolina courts make all custody decisions based on the best interests of the child, without preference for either parent. In determining what’s best for the child, judges consider evidence-backed factors like:
- Each parent’s ability to take care of the child’s needs
- Each parent’s living situation and work schedule
- The existing parent-child relationships
- Each parent’s caregiving history with the child
- The child’s current living arrangement, school, and community
- Each parent’s willingness to coparent
- The child’s preference, if they’re mature enough
- Any history of domestic violence or substance abuse
Modifying an Existing Child Custody Order
North Carolina law recognizes that family circumstances can change. As such, parents can request modifications of permanent custody orders if they can show a substantial change in circumstances that affects their child’s welfare. A new job, a relocation, or a change in the child’s needs can all qualify as significant changes in circumstances that justify a modification.
Our firm helps parents gather the documentation and evidence required to support modification requests when necessary and present compelling cases in court.
Enforcing a Child Custody Order
Every custody order carries the full weight of the court’s authority, and a parent who violates its terms can face serious legal consequences.
If your child’s other parent denies you visitation, prevents you from exercising your legal right to make decisions for your child, or otherwise disregards a custody order, your attorney can help you push back. A judge who finds proof of a violation may impose penalties ranging from a formal warning to fines or even jail time.
Our team can act quickly to protect your parental rights and hold the other party accountable if they fail to comply with a valid order.
When Emergency Child Custody May Be Necessary
Some custody situations call for immediate action. North Carolina courts can grant a temporary emergency custody order, sometimes called an ex parte order, if a child faces a substantial risk of physical injury, sexual abuse, or removal from the state to avoid the court’s authority.
Because courts grant ex parte orders without input from the other parent, they are subject to heightened legal scrutiny and can be difficult to obtain. If you believe your child is in immediate danger, contact our office right away. We can help you evaluate whether you have grounds to pursue emergency custody.
The Benefits of Working with a Child Custody Lawyer
Child custody laws in NC are complex, and the outcome of your case can shape your relationship with your child for years to come. That’s why you need experienced legal support from day one.
At Caulder & Valentine Law Firm, PLLC, our skilled North Carolina child custody attorneys know how local judges evaluate evidence and can present your case effectively. We also keep a manageable caseload so we can give each client the attention their case deserves, keeping consistent communication throughout the process.
In one recent custody case we handled, a father came to Mr. Caulder after having seen his five-year-old son only a handful of times over the past two years. Within a couple of weeks of hiring our firm, that father secured custody of his son three days a week.*
Here’s what our clients have to say about working with our firm on child custody issues:
“I had a great experience with Caulder and Valentine! Blake Caulder helped me obtain 50/50 custody for my child which I thought was going to be very hard. I now have enough say in my child’s life for the better! He helped me with minor and major things to finally get where I needed to be! He was very thorough and to the point and took in all my concerns! 5 stars and 2 thumbs up.”
– Gabriel Biggerstaff
“I am an attorney and also a client of Josh Valentine, who represented me in my child custody dispute. With his help, I obtained joint physical and legal custody of my child, with a 50/50 time split. I could not be more satisfied with his services.
As a fellow attorney, I held Josh Valentine to the same high professional standards that I require of myself when working on cases for my clients. Overall, Josh Valentine’s services far exceeded my expectations. From the first consultation, I could tell that Josh Valentine had both a solid grasp of the law and a thorough understanding of how the law is applied in practice in the county district courts where the child custody cases are decided. When I told him which county I lived in, he immediately named both judges and began describing how each generally adjudicates the child custody cases before them, which gave me a lot of confidence.
Josh Valentine closely listened to my worries and doubts, and gave me an optimistic outlook on my case from the start, while always providing objective and direct guidance on the necessary steps. From the start, he gave me a realistic timeline and description of the steps of the process, which put me at ease by establishing clear expectations.
While he is supported by a team of excellent legal professionals (especially Michael Huddle), he is not the sort of attorney who simply passes his work along to his team and disappears. Josh Valentine personally took charge of my case, promptly emailed me whenever there was an update, had several in-person and telephone meetings with me throughout the process, and personally drafted all of the court filings and negotiations with the opposing party (often together with me in his office). The service that I received was highly personalized and tailored to my specific facts and circumstances. I felt that Josh understands that a child custody dispute may be the most stressful time of your life, and I felt that he took my case as seriously as I did.
To conclude:
I do not have a single complaint concerning the services of attorney Josh Valentine. Take it from another attorney, if you are on the fence about which attorney to hire for your child custody case, stop thinking about it and hire this firm, you will not be disappointed.”
– Alberto Lugo
Protect Your Parental Rights: Speak with a Child Custody Attorney at Caulder & Valentine Law Firm, PLLC Today
Your relationship with your child is worth fighting for. That’s where the experienced child custody attorneys at Caulder & Valentine Law Firm, PLLC come in.
Contact us today to arrange an initial consultation and take the next step toward protecting your parental rights.
*Each case is unique, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.