Statesville North Carolina Legal Blog

North Carolina parents who are going through a divorce may have questions about how their living arrangements will affect the court's decision on custody. Courts have specific standards for acceptable living accommodations that vary by the court, state and judge.

The child's gender is one consideration. For example, if a parent and the child are opposite sexes, the court might require the parent's home to offer separate spaces that give the child privacy. The child may be required to have his or her own bathroom. The court also takes the sexes of the siblings into account, especially if they will be sharing a bedroom.

Some parents in North Carolina who are getting a divorce might be able to co-parent effectively, but others may not. However, they may still want their child to have a relationship with the other parent that is not marred by the conflict between the two of them. Studies show it is this conflict that is the hardest for children to deal with when their parents get divorced. Parents in this situation may want to try parallel parenting instead of co-parenting.

Parallel parents usually agree on major issues, such as education and religion. Unlike co-parents, who generally communicate a great deal, they do not want direct communication. They will need a structured plan to avoid this. They may also want to agree to share calendars or use email to exchange schedules. Coparents need a plan as well, but it can be more flexible.

New York's blood alcohol concentration limit of .08 percent is identical to that of 48 other states and the District of Columbia. However, Utah has passed new regulations that lower the legal limit to .05 percent, a significant reduction. Some polls show that most Americans support further reductions in the BAC limit in an attempt to reduce accidents. Every day, an average of 29 people lose their lives in car crashes connected to drunk driving with costs rising to over $44 billion annually.

There is a great deal of debate about the most effective ways to reduce the risks of drunk driving. Some reformers have urged reduction in BAC limits as well as the use of widespread sobriety checkpoints and the installation of ignition interlocks, which are devices that prevent a car from moving if the driver is over the legal limit. One poll showed that 55 percent of Americans supported a reduction to .05 from .08, the widespread national standard. The National Transportation Safety Board says that drivers are seven times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash with a BAC of .05 to .079 than if they were completely sober.

There are a number of reasons that separated or divorced parents in North Carolina might need to request a child custody modification. Since courts attempt to make decisions that are in the best interests of the child, if a modification is determined to fulfill that criteria, the custody schedule may be changed.

If a parent believes the child is in danger, there may also be a child custody modification. The court will consider whether there has been domestic violence, whether the child is in immediate danger and whether the child is unwilling to stay in the home. A parent's move to another location might necessitate a change in custody. A court will take the parent's reason for moving into account as well as how it will change the custody schedule and the degree to which it will disrupt the child's life. The court will also consider whether the parents already have a plan in place for modifying the schedule.