Lake Norman Child Custody Attorneys

Pursuing Your Child's Best Interests. Protecting Your Parental Rights.

As a parent, we know that you want the best for your child. Engaging in a custody battle with a co-parent can be nerve-wracking, particularly if you disagree with your co-parent on how to handle custody and the case could impact your relationship with your child in the foreseeable future.

At Blood Law, PLLC, our Lake Norman child custody lawyers will work closely with you throughout your custody battle to ensure your parental rights and your child's best interests remain protected.

To schedule a consultation with an experienced child custody lawyer near you, contact us online or via phone at (704) 286-0570.

Understanding Legal & Physical Custody in North Carolina

In any custody case, there are two types of custody:

• Physical custody dictates whether a parent has the right to house their child. Whichever parent has physical custody a majority of the time is generally referred to as the "custodial parent" in child custody disputes.
• Legal custody dictates whether a parent can make judgments that affect their child's rights, such as where they go to school, what kind of medical care they receive, what religions they are exposed to, etc.

Courts typically recognize two types of custody arrangements:

1. Joint custody. In a joint custody arrangement, both parents have legal and (typically) physical custody.
2. Sole custody. In a sole custody arrangement, one only parent may have legal or physical custody.

Generally, courts default to joint custody arrangements under the assumption that it's beneficial for a child to spend time with both parents regularly. However, if the court decides that one parent is unfit to care for a child, they may award the other parent with sole custody. A parent may be considered unfit if they engage in behavior such as domestic abuse or neglect, cannot offer the child a safe living arrangement, or consistently fail to act in a way that demonstrates they care for the child's best interests.

How much time a child spends living with either parent is governed by the visitation arrangement (also often called a parenting plan) established during the custody case.