Archive

• Abuse, Neglect, Dependency Actions Automatically Stay Custody Claims in Civil Actions

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on March 27, 2015 at 5:00 am and is filed under Adoptions, Child Welfare Law, Family Law.

  The district court has exclusive, original jurisdiction over all abuse, neglect, and dependency (A/N/D) proceedings. When a court obtains that jurisdiction after an A/N/D petition has been filed by a county department of social services (DSS), “any other civil action in this State in which the custody of the juvenile is an issue is automatically stayed as to that issue, unless the juvenile proceeding and the civil custody action or claim are consolidated … or the court in the juvenile proceeding enters an order dissolving the stay.” G.S. 7B-200(c)(1).

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• Does a foreign custody order have to be registered before our court can enforce or modify it?

  This entry was contributed by Cheryl Howell on March 6, 2015 at 5:00 am and is filed under Family Law.

  I hear this question frequently. Despite much effort, I have yet to find a case or a statute indicating that a custody order from another state must be registered before it can be enforced or modified. Of course, an action must be initiated to invoke the jurisdiction of our courts; something that can be done with a complaint, service of process and the normal rules of civil procedure. It is clear from UIFSA, Chapter 52C, that support orders from other states must be registered before a North Carolina court can enforce or modify the support order and UIFSA provides a clear statutory procedure for registration. There is no similar statutory requirement for child custody orders.

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