North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Although the respondent-mother appeared at a non-secure custody hearing, she did not appear at any other hearing in the entire case. Her absence from the termination of parental rights hearing was not discussed on the record, and her counsel did ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Termination of Parental Rights – Attorneys – Ineffective Assistance Claim
Criminal Practice – Manufacturing Marijuana – Indictment Allegations – Intent to Distribute 
An indictment alleged that defendant manufactured marijuana in four different ways (“producing, preparing, propagating and processing”), one of which (preparing) required a showing of an intent to distribute and three of which (producing, propagating and processing) did not. Although the ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Custody Removal – Non-Parent Placement
The respondent-mother and her boyfriend complied with their DSS plans, and there was no evidence that the mother had acted inconsistently with her constitutionally protected right to parent. Therefore, the record does not support the trial court’s order that ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Equitable Distribution – Classification – Stipulation – Separate Townhome – Marital Debt
Where the parties stipulated that a townhome was the separate property of the plaintiff-wife, the trial court erred when it classified part of the townhome as marital property. We reverse and remand the trial court’s equitable distribution order. In a ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Civil Contempt – Child Support Arrears – Ability to Pay – Burden of Proof
The trial court entered an order to appear and show cause for defendant’s failure to comply with an order requiring him to pay child support arrears, so defendant had the burden of proof under G.S. § 5A-23. Although defendant failed ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Appeals – GAL Appointment – Termination of Parental Rights – Neglect – Limited Progress
Where the respondent-father waited until his closing argument at the adjudicatory stage of the hearing to terminate his parental rights before making the argument that the trial court should have appointed him a guardian ad litem earlier than it did, ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Termination of Parental Rights – Dependency – Domestic Violence
Even though the respondent-mother was not ordered to stay away from her children’s father, since (1) the parents’ relationship is marred by domestic violence, (2) some incidents of domestic violence have taken place in the presence of their elder son, ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Termination of Parental Rights – Abandonment – Willfulness – Father’s Disability
The respondent-father presented evidence that his disability – he has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder with psychotic features, anxiety disorder, and panic disorder with agoraphobia – prevented him from leaving his parents’ home in New York and that his ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Termination of Parental Rights – Guardian ad Litem – Repetition of Neglect
Even though the petition alleging that respondents’ children were neglected and dependent contained allegations regarding the respondent-mother’s “severe untreated mental health concerns,” and even though the trial court learned early on that the mother had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia ...
Read More »Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Neglect & Dependency – Grandmother’s Intervention – Caretaker – Permanency Planning Order
Even though a maternal grandmother is not one of the persons whom G.S. § 7B-401.1(h) allows to intervene in a neglect and dependency case, since the grandmother in this case is also the child’s caretaker, the trial court may order ...
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