Child custody lawyer

Michigan Moves To Make Joint Custody Mandatory

Published on: June 21, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

Everyone knows that custody and visitation are among the most contentious parts of many divorces. Parents are understandably motivated to secure as much time as possible with their children and fight hard to ensure they are granted authority to make decisions about how their children will be raised. Though this makes perfect sense, many wonder if the process could be simplified (and made much less stressful) by eliminating the fight over custody entirely.

The Implications of the Brangelina Split

Published on: September 20, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What does a “No-Fault’ divorce mean in NC?”

Over the weekend, news broke that “Brangelina”, the portmanteau for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship, has come to an end. The news came as a shock to many given the couple’s seeming happiness and history together. Though fans continue to grieve the demise of arguably the world’s most famous celebrity coupling, divorce attorneys have begun to ponder what might occur during the upcoming divorce? Will it be a public battle or a private one? Will the fight be over money? How about the kids? To learn more about what experts expect out of the Brangelina split, keep reading.

Chris Brown Receives Decisive Win in Custody Battle Over Daughter Royalty

Published on: August 25, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

Love him or hate him, Chris Brown has reportedly won another round in his ongoing custody dispute with ex Nia Guzman concerning their two-year-old daughter Royalty.

Paternity in North Carolina

Published on: July 19, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What rules are there for Father’s Right in NC?”

When it comes to paternity, the law in North Carolina has been designed to favor married couples. Married couples benefit because when a child is born to a married couple, the husband and wife are automatically viewed as being legal parents of the child. This can be a great thing in that it immediately bestows important rights and responsibilities on the couple, saving the hassle of having to establish paternity. The problem is that this can work against some couples, specifically, those where the child born during the marriage is not the biological child of the husband. In these cases, the father will have to fight a rather long battle to have the presumption of paternity reversed. To learn more about paternity and how it can prove problematic in certain custody/child support cases, keep reading.

Courts Faced With Deciding What It Means To Be A Parent

Published on: June 2, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

The New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) will grapple with a tricky legal question that has become increasingly important in the family law world: what is a parent? The answer to the question will impact hundreds if not thousands of custody disputes involving same-sex parents who for years have waged battle without the kind of legal clarity that exists in cases involving opposite sex partners.

What Do Children Think About Divorce?

Published on: November 24, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “How can an attorney help me with my Divorce or Separation in North Carolina?”

A recent survey conducted by a British family law organization, Resolution, shed light on the divorce process by revealing some interesting statistics. Importantly, and unusually, the survey did not focus on the adults, but instead surveyed children, asking them their thoughts on divorce and ideas about what parents can do to make the process easier on the kids. Specifically, the group focused on hundreds of young people between the ages of 14 and 22 whose parents had gone through a divorce. To find out more about what the survey revealed about children and divorce, keep reading.

Rights of Stepparents in Custody Disputes

Published on: October 13, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

When we think of custody disputes we normally think of fights between divorcing parents, sometimes grandparents. Though these do represent the vast majority of cases, as blended families are increasingly common, it is not unusual for a custody case to involve stepparents. These cases can be emotional given the close family ties and complex given the legal requirements. Keep reading to find out more about stepparent rights in a custody dispute.

California Family Law Case Could Set Standard For Dealing With Frozen Embryos

Published on: September 22, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

A sad and legally complex divorce case out of California is set to be resolved in the coming months. Though divorce cases are hardly novel, this one may end up blazing an important trail as experts believe the judge could lay down rules for how cases involving frozen embryos will be decided. The issue has appeared across the country, but the results have been largely unpredictable. The hope among many is that this case may provide a path forward, clearly outlining how these thorny issues are to be dealt with.

State seizes “free range” children from parents, charges parents with crimes

Published on: May 14, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

Joe Naugler says his “free range” children have been free to roam his twenty-six acre Breckenridge, Kentucky property—called “Blessed Little Homestead”—since their infancy.