Archive

• Family Law Legislation Effective On or Before October 1, 2025

  This entry was contributed by Cheryl Howell on November 5, 2025 at 9:00 am and is filed under Family Law.

  The North Carolina General Assembly recently addressed family law issues in several pieces of legislation. This post addresses legislation effective on or before October 1, 2025. Changes effective on later dates will be addressed in subsequent posts.

   

  Child Support

  Accrual of child support arrears and DSS custody.

   S.L. 2025-16, sec. 1.21.(a).

   Amends G.S. 50-13.10 (which governs establishment and modification of past due child support) to include subdivision (5), to provide that a child support payment is not past due and no arrears accrue for foster care assistance that is owed to the state by the supporting party during any period when the child is in DSS custody.

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• The Fostering Care in NC Act: Changes to Child Welfare Effective October 1, 2025, Part 2, and an On-Demand Webinar on the Legislative Changes

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on October 1, 2025 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  This is my third post discussing S.L. 2025-16, the Fostering Care in NC Act. The various sections of this significant 32-page session law have different effective dates: June 26, 2025, October 1, 2025, December 1, 2025, and April 1, 2026. This post discusses two significant changes to child welfare law that are effective October 1^st:

  • the right to seek expungement from the Responsible Individuals List (RIL) through a district court action under the new G.S. 7B-325, and
  • post-adoption contact agreement and orders between parents and prospective adoptive parents for children who are in DSS custody through an order entered in an abuse, neglect, or dependency (A/N/D) action under the new G.S. 7B-909.2, -909.3 and 50-13.2B.

  Because the changes made in S.L. 2025-16 and some other shorter session laws addressing child welfare are so numerous, my colleague, Kristi Nickodem, and I made a 1.5 hour on-demand webinar discussing these changes. It is free of charge and can be viewed at any time. There are no continuing education credit hours available. You can view the webinar at https://vimeo.com/1121169767. The end of this post has a list of all the posts addressing the legislative changes discussed in the webinar. Continue Reading

• The Fostering Care in NC Act: Changes to Child Welfare Effective October 1, 2025, Part 1

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on August 20, 2025 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  This is my second post discussing S.L. 2025-16, the Fostering Care in NC Act. The various sections of this significant 32-page session law have different effective dates. Some sections became effective on June 26, 2025 and are discussed in my previous post – https://civil.sog.unc.edu/the-fostering-care-in-nc-act-changes-to-child-welfare-and-dss-that-are-effective-now/ – and my colleague’s post discussing changes to DHHS oversight https://civil.sog.unc.edu/state-oversight-of-county-departments-of-social-services-changes-in-session-law-2025-16/).

  Other sections are effective on October 1, 2025. The focus of this blog is on most of the provisions in Part I of S.L. 2025-16 that become effective on October 1, which is not that far away. Continue Reading

• The Fostering Care in NC Act: Changes to Child Welfare and DSS that Are Effective Now

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on June 30, 2025 at 5:44 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  On June 26, 2025, H612 was signed by the Governor and became S.L. 2025-16. This session law makes significant amendments to the laws addressing juvenile abuse, neglect, and dependency (A/N/D) and the oversight provided by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) over county departments of social services (DSS). The session law also affects termination of parental rights, adoptions of minors, permanent no contact orders, felony child abuse, and criminal history checks for applicants for city and county jobs that involve working with children. Finally, this session law enacts a guardianship assistance program for certain children who were in DSS custody when guardianship was ordered. The various sections of this significant 32-page session law have different effective dates, with some sections effective on June 26, 2025 and others not effective until as late as April 1, 2026. This blog only summarizes the changes that are effective now. Continue Reading

• Legislative Changes in Child Welfare: The Short Session

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on July 16, 2024 at 8:36 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  The North Carolina General Assembly made some changes to child welfare laws during this short session. Many of these changes have taken effect and some will be effective by January 1, 2025. All the amendments are important for those of you who practice in this area to be aware of. Continue Reading

• Less Restrictive Alternatives and Incompetency Restoration Proceedings

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on April 3, 2024 at 9:57 am and is filed under Guardianship, Incompetency.

  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, or (ii) the ward dies. G.S. 35A-1295(a).

  The recently enacted Session Law 2023-124 amended the definition of incompetency and introduced requirements to ensure the consideration of less restrictive alternatives (LRAs) before a petition for incompetency can be granted. These statutory changes are born out of a recognition of the seriousness of declaring someone incompetent, and to encourage, where appropriate, the use of alternative arrangements that impose less restrictions than plenary guardianship. The changes are effective as to petitions filed on or after January 1, 2024.

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• S.L. 2023-124: Changes to Guardianship Statutes, Notice of Rights, and Details on Upcoming SOG Resources

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on October 26, 2023 at 10:30 am and is filed under Guardianship, Incompetency.

   

  On September 20, 2023, Senate Bill 615 became Session Law 2023-124, enacting a significant number of changes to North Carolina’s existing incompetency and guardianship laws. The changes modified the definitions in G.S. Chapter 35A of key terms, added a requirement of all parties and the court to consider less restrictive alternatives to guardianship, created a new notice of rights (and with it, new obligations for guardian ad litem attorneys (GALs) and others), changed the standards applicable to the assessment of costs and fees, and more.  This post will explore one of these changes, the new notice of rights requirement, and will consider the practical implications for GALS. At the end of this post, you will find information about upcoming School of Government blog posts and webinars on the legislative changes resulting from S.L. 2023-124.

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• 2023 Child Welfare Legislative Changes

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on October 3, 2023 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  As the 2023 Legislative Session continues, many session laws that amend child welfare statutes, including abuse, neglect, dependency; termination of parental rights (TPR); adoption of a minor; and foster care licensing became effective on various dates. Some of these changes are significant. Some session laws focus on specific statutory changes involving an individual juvenile or family; other session laws make changes to state systems. Continue Reading

• S.L. 2023-106: Parents’ Rights, Who Is a Parent, and Juvenile Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on September 5, 2023 at 10:44 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  This blog was updated on October 3, 2023 to incorporate amendments made by the 2023 Appropriations Act (S.L. 2023-134). The changes are in italics.

  On August 16^th, the legislature used an override of the Governor’s veto to pass S.L. 2023-106 (S49), a law enumerating the rights of parents regarding their children’s education, health care, and mental health needs. But in addressing a parent’s rights, the law contains some exceptions when the child is alleged to be abused, neglected, or dependent. Notably, the new law defines “parent” as “any person with legal custody of a child, including a natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian.” In cases where a department of social services (DSS) has filed a petition alleging a juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent, DSS may obtain custody of the juvenile, or the court may ultimately award legal custody or guardianship to a person who is not the juvenile’s parent. As a result, the new law impacts abuse, neglect, and dependency cases. This post discusses the new law as it relates to abuse, neglect, and dependency cases only and is not a comprehensive discussion of the new law generally. Continue Reading

• Single Transactions and Protective Arrangements: A New Tool in Guardianship Proceedings and a Lot for GALs to Consider

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on February 3, 2022 at 9:45 am and is filed under Guardianship.

   

  Effective for all incompetency and guardianship proceedings filed after October 1, 2021, S.L. 2021-53 (S 50) created a new statute, G.S. 35A-1121, that enables clerks to authorize a single transaction or protective arrangement—without appointing a guardian. I have received a lot of consults on the new law since it passed. It is not intended to be a magic wand. The law is a tool—one that may prove effective when used in the right situations. To make sure their clients remain protected, GALs need to understand what the law is and is not.

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