I filed for a child support modification in NC, where our Child support Enforcement agent said she could do the modification for me. She modified it in March 2016; however, she never actually did it. In July 2016, she tried to file income withholding to my Broker (I am now self-employed Realtor in another state). I tried to get a hold of her many, many times, and finally, after writing a letter to the director of child support enforcement, she called me(August 2016), to tell me that she couldn’t do a modification because the mother and our child moved to another State and she wouldn’t tell me where or when they moved. To make a long story, short. I filed my own modification in the court in August 2016 and had a hearing in November 2016, which I had to drive to NC to attend. At the hearing, my name was called and I was marked present, (the other party was not there), but then the enforcement worker and attorney called me into the back office. BTW, I did not have the money for an attorney, so I was self-represented. In the back room, I was informed that there wasn’t anything I could do to get a modification because the court had relinquished jurisdiction of this case and that the case now belonged to Colorado. Again, no one would give me any addresses or other information because they claimed that they couldn’t give me that information. I left and returned home defeated, only to have an order “Order for Modification of Child Support,” mailed to me, order denied because I “failed to appear,” and this order then ordered an arrears amount and then enforcement of the “prior order is ceased effective October 31, 2016,” which was prior to hearing date, and after Enforcement and attorney told me that the court already did that! I filed an Administrative Contested Hearing in NC, and it was accepted, but then dismissed when they got an attorney that said that office didn’t have jurisdiction over this case. Also, I was told that they didn’t stop my daughter’s removal from the state because we never had a custody determination in this case (we were never married, I was military and paid a ridiculous amount of child support, and was able to see my daughter when I lived in NC and when I traveled to NC when I was in the US). This order had their address printed on it, so I have tried numerous times to get this order modified and to establish custody/visitations, only to have it returned every time saying their courts have no record of our case. So, essentially, I am trying to get this case sent back to NC and I have discovered Rule 60. I am running out of time to file this, but I can’t find how to file it. I have called several attorney’s in NC, all of which don’t even want to touch this case! I have done a ton of research and spoke to an attorney in my home state and was told that NC is the only court to “set aside,” or “vacate,” this order. I just don’t know how to do it! I also found that NC does allow for telephonic hearings and I completely believe that this court, and myself was fraudulently advised in this case. I also believe that my modification of child support was approved well before the other party and my daughter moved from the State! I also need to open a custody/visitation case, so this will never happen again and I can have regular visitation with my daughter now that I am out of the military and free to have a stable life affording me the opportunity to be a part of her life, so I want the court to hear all of these issues, but don’t know how to do this.
To file a Rule 60 motion, you must draft your own motion - there is no pre-printed form to use. You will need to allege all of the facts that you believe are sufficient to provide you relief from a judgment/order pursuant to the grounds set forth in Rule 60 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. You will then need to sign that motion, file it with the court, and serve a copy of the filed motion on the other party.
You will likely be unable to file a custody/visitation action in NC if your child does not live in NC anymore. NC only has jurisdiction to enter custody orders when the child has lived in NC for the last 6 months or the child has significant connections to North Carolina.
Anna Ayscue
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest
Rosen Online | Unlimited confidential access to a North Carolina attorney for $199/mo - click here
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