My friend in North Carolina is having issues with her ex-husband not honoring the court ordered custody times. I’m trying to find her help for the issue as she cannot afford court fees or an attorney. Her ex used his Military Occupation to receive more custody of their kids. She ended up only getting them every other weekend. He then got discharged from the Military and has the kids staying with his mother most of the time. What are her legal options? Does she have enough to request more custody of her kids? To my knowledge there is no underlying reasons why she got so little custody.
If the father is willfully violating the custody court order, the mother should file a contempt motion (called a motion and order to appear and show cause) to try to hold the father in contempt of court and to enforce the order.
The only way the mother can request more custody is to file a motion to have the current order modified. In order to have a custody order modified, the moving party (the mother in this case) must be able to show that a substantial change in circumstances affecting the wellbeing of the minor children has occurred since the entry of the current order.
The fact that the father was in the military at the time the custody order was entered and now is not, coupled with the fact that the children spend most of their time with a grandparent (depending on the reasons they are with the grandparent), may be enough to show a substantial change in circumstances if this substantial change is affecting the wellbeing of the children.
Anna Ayscue
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest
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