Understanding Child Custody in NC

There are several different types of Child Custody:

• Legal Custody – This type of custody gives you as the parent the legal “power” when it comes to decision making regarding the upbringing of the child.

A parent with legal custody will be entitled to access and make decisions for all of the child’s important medical, educational, religious and other information and records.

• Joint Custody – This type of custody is when both parents share physical and/or legal custody.

Joint custody means the child spends overnights with both parents. Just because the parents have joint custody does not always mean the child will spend equal nights or days with each parent. Joint custody means that both parents must be included in order to make decisions for the child.

• Sole Custody – This type of custody is when the child spends all the overnights with just one parent. The other parent will often only have visitation rights. 

Sole custody means that only the parent with sole custody has the authority to make decisions regarding the child. 

How is Custody Determined?

Court will decide where the child will live and what type of custody will or should be awarded to each parent. If the parents have come to an agreement, the courts will often take that into consideration before making the decision for the family and the child.
If no agreement can be made, then the court will choose based on the “best interests” of the child. The court considers a wide variety of factors to determine the best arrangement for custody of the child.

The factors the courts consider:

• What is the Parent and Child Relationship?
• Is there a stable home for the child to live in?
• Is the parent able to care for the child?
• Is there a history of domestic violence?
• Is the child safe in the living environment? 

Adkins Law can help you understand any and all complexities of your child custody case. Call Adkins Law today for more information and to schedule a consultation.