When filing a custody complaint, a common misconception is the natural next step after filing is to have a hearing before a judge. In North Carolina, though, most courts require mediation prior to a custody hearing ever taking place before a judge.
So, what does this mean? The following steps outline how a custody case typically gets started in a North Carolina court.
- File your Complaint: An initial filing should include a domestic action cover sheet, civil summons, complaint, servicemembers civil relief act affidavit, and a document (if not in your complaint) stating all addresses your children have lived at for the past five years.
- Wait for the opposing party to be served: Whoever you are filling against must be served. This typically happens when the sheriff delivers the filing to the opposite party.
- Wait 30 days after service to give opposing party time to respond: Once an opposing party is served, they have 30 days to file an Answer that either denies or affirms the allegations you made in your filing.
- Attend mediation orientation: Every county does this a little differently, but most counties will send out a link to an online tutorial to mediation showing the parties how mediation will take place. Both parties must separately take this orientation.
- Attend mediation: Once both parties have attended orientation, if required by that county, the parties will then together attend mediation. Only the parties and the mediator will be allowed to be present.
If you reach an agreement in mediation, the mediator will draft a proposed order for a Judge to sign. Accordingly, no court hearing will take place, because the Order drafted by the mediator will become the custody order between the parties.
If an agreement is not reached in mediation, the Court will reach out to the party’s attorneys, or party themselves if unrepresented, to set a court date. On the set court dates, the parties will go before a judge and have a hearing on what kind of custody schedule each party believes is in the best interests of the child.
Mediation saves both the parties and Court time and cost. However, it does not always end in settlement and it can be beneficial to discuss a game plan with an attorney ahead of time and began preparing for a court hearing in case mediation does not work.
If you are seeking to establish a custody order, give us a call today at Ley Law to set up a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys at 252-612-0007.
LeAnne Goss Author
LeAnne M. Goss is an Associate Attorney at Ley Law, dedicated to Family Law, Juvenile Law, Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Court (DSS court), as well as Appellate Law. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2019 with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Studies focused on Humanities and earned her Juris Doctor from Campbell Law School in 2023.
