The Best-Interest-of-the-Child Standard

Under N.C.G.S. § 50-13.2, North Carolina courts award custody based on the best interest of the child. There is no presumption favoring either parent. Judges consider factors including each parent’s relationship with the child, the stability of each home environment, the child’s ties to school and community, any history of domestic violence or substance abuse, and the parents’ ability to cooperate in raising the child.

Legal Custody vs. Physical Custody

North Carolina custody orders address two distinct components:

• Legal Custody: The right and responsibility to make major decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and extracurricular activities. Joint legal custody — where both parents share decision-making — is common. Sole legal custody may be awarded when one parent is unable or unwilling to participate responsibly.
• Physical Custody: Where the child lives and spends time. Primary physical custody means the child resides primarily with one parent, with the other having visitation or secondary time. Joint physical custody — sometimes called shared custody — means the child’s time is divided more equally between both households.

Parenting Plans and Custody Agreements

Many custody disputes are resolved without a trial through negotiated parenting plans. A parenting plan is a detailed written agreement — incorporated into a court order — that specifies the schedule for regular parenting time, holidays, school breaks, vacations, and procedures for handling disputes. Sherrill & Cameron attorneys help parents craft clear, workable plans that minimize future conflict and protect children’s routines.

When parents cannot agree, the court conducts an evidentiary hearing. Judges can order psychological evaluations, home studies, and guardian ad litem appointments in contested cases.

Third-Party Custody

In North Carolina, persons other than parents — grandparents, aunts and uncles, family friends — may seek custody if they can show they stand in loco parentis to the child or that both parents are unfit. This is a fact-intensive inquiry and generally carries a higher threshold than parent-versus-parent custody proceedings.

Enforcement of Custody Orders

If a parent violates a custody order, the other parent may seek enforcement through the court. Remedies include contempt of court, makeup parenting time, modification of the existing order, and, in some circumstances, attorney’s fees against the non-complying parent. North Carolina also has criminal penalties for parental abduction under § 14-320.1.

How We Can Help

Our attorneys represent parents and, in appropriate cases, grandparents and other third parties in Rowan County custody proceedings. We bring decades of combined experience before the Rowan County District Court and understand the local judicial environment. Our services include:

• Negotiating and drafting parenting plans
• Filing and responding to custody complaints
• Emergency custody motions for immediate protection
• Contested custody hearings and trials
• Enforcement and contempt proceedings
• Interstate custody issues under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)