Recent blog posts - 12 of 69

In North Carolina, a juvenile who is the subject of an abuse, neglect, or dependency petition may be placed in the custody of a Department of Social Services (DSS). When DSS has a court order of custody, it places a child outside of the child’s home, often in a licensed foster home or in the home of a relative or other placement provider. Here at the School of Government (SOG), we are often asked whether North Carolina law authorizes foster parents (or the child’s placement providers) to consent to health services for the children in DSS custody who are placed in providers’ homes. Spoiler: the answer is “no.” If foster parents or placement providers cannot consent to medical care for the children in their home, must the person whose consent is required (e.g., a DSS caseworker) attend and give consent at every appointment for every child who is in DSS custody? This blog post, co-authored by SOG faculty Kirsten Leloudis and Sara DePasquale, addresses these questions.

The right to appeal an order in a delinquency matter is established in G.S. 7B-2602 (Right to appeal) and G.S. 7B-2603 (Right to appeal transfer decision). These statutes do not identify every order that is entered in a delinquency action. Instead, there is a right to appeal after entry of specified final orders and any order transferring jurisdiction to superior court for trial as an adult. This post explains when there is a statutory right to appeal an order in a delinquency matter, who has the right to appeal, and restrictions on juvenile court jurisdiction while an appeal is pending.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently reminded us that custody rights do not make a person a parent. So, while a person may have court-ordered equal custody with the […]

In North Carolina, when an adult is adjudicated incompetent and guardianship is ordered, guardianship is permanent until the first of these two developments occur: (i) the ward’s competency is restored, […]

For the past 7 years, the UNC School of Government has participated in GiveUNC, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s annual day of giving. And every year, we […]

It all began when two people fell in love…well, maybe not love, but they at least liked each other enough to enter into a landlord-tenant relationship. Like so many relationships, […]

**This post was written by my colleagues Kristina Wilson and Phil Dixon. You can reach Kristina at Wilson@sog.unc.edu and Phil at dixon@sog.unc.edu When and how can state and local government […]

Adult guardianship law in North Carolina underwent several significant changes effective January 1, 2024. My colleague, Timothy Heinle, and I previously blogged about two of these changes resulting from Session […]

Magistrates are often referred to as the “first face” of the judicial system for most citizens. They serve the public with professionalism, all while keeping abreast of the rapidly changing […]

*Update, March 1, 2024: The N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts published revised year’s allowance forms in connection with the changes enacted by Session Law 2023-120.  They are AOC-E-100, Petition and Assignment Year’s Allowance and AOC-E-101, Deficiency Judgment.  Both the revised and previous version of the forms are available on the AOC’s website. The revised forms should be used for the estates of decedents dying on or after March 1, 2024.  The previous version of the forms should be used for the estates of decedents dying on or before February 29, 2024.

This is the third and final post in a series that focuses on changes to the year’s allowance in decedents’ estates resulting from Session Law 2023-120. This post discusses the process to apply for the spousal and child’s allowance. The statutory changes are effective for decedents dying on or after March 1, 2024. You can access my two previous posts in this series here and here.