Best Adoption Lawyers in Asheville, NC

In applying the best interest test, one factor the courts will consider, if the child is old enough, is the desire of the child regarding where he or she wants to live. There is no set age where children are allowed to testify concerning their wishes.

Child custody, like visitation and support, is always modifiable by the court. As situations change, the court retains jurisdiction to review custody and make changes. Once the court has made a determination of custody, it can change the placement of children only upon a showing of a substantial change of circumstances affecting the children.

As in the determination of custody, courts decide the issue of visitation in the same manner, based upon what they perceive is in the best interest of the children. Generally, unless there is evidence that a party is unfit or unable to provide for the proper care and nurturing of his or her children, he or she will be granted unsupervised visitation, however the extent varies often between different judges and different jurisdictions.

North Carolina, like many other states, has adopted a uniform means to calculate child support. In this way, a couple in a similar economic situation will pay the same amount of child support here in Asheville as they would if they lived in Raleigh or Wilmington.