North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Minor child “Kaitlyn” moved from North Carolina to Texas with her defendant-mother in March 2020. Although Kaitlyn visited with her plaintiff-grandmother and her godparents in North Carolina for three summer months in 2020, this absence from Texas was temporary.
Furthermore, Texas was still Kaitlyn’s home state when her godparents brought her back to North Carolina in December 2020. Even if Kaitlyn’s stay in North Carolina from December 2020 to April 2021 would not be considered a temporary absence because the defendant-mother was intending to move back to North Carolina or because the mother asked Kaitlyn’s godparents to keep Kaitlyn indefinitely so that she could “find herself,” only four months had passed when plaintiff filed her complaint on 6 April 2021.
Consequently, Texas was still Kaitlyn’s home state at the date of the commencement of the proceeding as Kaitlyn had not lived in North Carolina for six consecutive months since returning to North Carolina in December 2020.
The trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff-grandmother’s custody action. We vacate the trial court’s orders.
Hosch v. Hosch-Carroll (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-428-22, 10 pp.) (Darren Jackson, J.) Appealed from Rowan County District Court (Charlie Brown, J.) Spencer Newsome and Cindy Ellis for defendant; no brief for plaintiff. 2022-NCCOA-693
