Child Custody

Child Custody – Helping Families Move Forward

Child custody is easily one of the most contentious aspects of any divorce. At The Law Office of Timothy Porterfield, our Charlotte child custody attorney can help you understand the different types of custody available to you and help you make decisions about what will work best for both you and your family. You can trust our firm to provide you with the strong representation you deserve.


Physical v. Legal Custody in North Carolina

A divorce that involves children means that custody must be determined either through mutual agreement of both parents or by the family court. As a parent, there are two types of child custody in NC that may be awarded to you: physical custody or legal custody.

Physical Custody

Physical custody refers to where the child is going to live the majority of the time and can be awarded as either sole physical custody or joint physical custody.


Sole custody means that one party has physical, exclusive care of the child, and the other party has visitation rights. The standard visitation schedule that comes to mind is that of an “every other weekend” schedule. This is by no means a “rule,” and many factors can play into whether or not an every other weekend schedule would be in the child’s best interest—the child’s age, school, the proximity of the parents from one another, the child’s extracurricular activities, the child’s health, etc.



Joint custody means both parents share parenting time with the child. The child essentially has two primary residences and divides their time between the two. A standard joint custody arrangement may look like a week-on, week-off arrangement, meaning mom has the child one week, and dad has the child the next week. Again, this is by no means the only option and many factors will play into this as well.


Legal Custody

Legal custody refers to the ability of either one or both parties to make significant decisions on the child’s behalf, such as medical choices, religion, education, and more. Legal custody is independent of physical custody and is usually awarded to both parents regardless of parenting time, however, if one parent is deemed to be unfit, the court can award sole legal custody to the other parent

Jurisdiction & Residency Requirements

The first thing the judge has to do before deciding a child custody issue or sending the parents to mediation is to determine whether or not the court has jurisdiction. North Carolina has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (or UCCJEA for short), which is found in N.C.G.S. §50A-204. According to the statute, North Carolina must be the “home state” of the child at the date of filing the lawsuit which, although there are certain exceptions that apply, is going to mean that the child has lived in North Carolina for the past six months prior to filing the lawsuit.

No matter what side of a child support modification matter you are on, having an experienced family law attorney by your side can help you accomplish your goals. Contact our office to schedule some time to discuss your situation.

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