Appeal of custody ruling

North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
1

I filed for a change to our custody agreement after my ex moved out of the county where we’d always lived and made our current arrangement of week on/week off difficult to manage. The judge ruled in my favor and I was awarded primary custody, he has every other weekend visitation and our week on/week off schedule would continue during the summer.

We were in court this week to have the order signed and my ex stated to the judge that he intended to appeal. He did not have an attorney for the original hearing.

I have never heard of an appeal for custody. Can he appeal just based on the fact that he didn’t like the ruling? Does his appeal have to state the reason for his appeal? Is there another hearing in appeals court and does that take place in Raleigh? My attorney said he does not do appeal work, so he will have to refer me to another attorney.

2

If he files a notice of appeal, he will also have to articulate the reasons why he is appealing, and this cannot simply be because he doesn’t like the order. The appellate court is located in Raleigh, but they rarely hear oral arguments. If the case is appealed, you may have to have a new trial at the district court level.