Do Mothers Always Get Primary Custody?

One of our founders, Valerie Hein, answers the question “Do Mothers Always Get Primary Custody?”. Watch her answer below:

For your convenience, below you’ll find a full transcript of this video:

“So the short answer to this question is no, mothers do not always get primary custody, but this has been a fairly recent change. As recently as five or six years ago, it was much more common to see the standard every other weekend schedule for dads. Here over the past five or six years, there has been a significant shift in the thinking as to what is the most appropriate and the best custody schedule and it's really shifted much more to where 50/50 custody is a starting point for a lot of judges.

In fact, some states, not North Carolina, but some states have even enacted statutes that require courts to start with 50/50 custody and justify straying from that custody schedule. North Carolina doesn't have such a statute, but like I said, the trend is becoming much more common to start with 50/50 custody and judges really have to make findings or have been making findings to stray from that custody schedule.

There's also a lot of research out there that suggests that equal time with both parents is in the best interest of the child, which is the standard in North Carolina for making a custody determination. There are obviously cases where moms have primary custody, but there are also cases where dads have primary custody. Like I said, the standard in North Carolina is the best interest of the child. So it really depends on the circumstances of each individual case. But more and more, we're seeing judges trend toward giving 50/50 custody to the parents.”

For more information on child custody, check out our related articles located here. To setup a consultation with one of our North Carolina licensed attornesy click here or give us a call at 704-248-7683.