Custody

Mediation is a way to resolve a disagreement about custody through a guided conversation led by a trained professional called a mediator.¹ During a mediation session, a mediator sits down with you and the other parent to try to work out an agreement about custody and visitation. The courts provide custody mediation free of charge.²

If your mediation is successful, your custody and visitation agreement will be written out and submitted to the judge. The judge can approve it and make it a court order. The court is supposed to approve the mediation agreement unless there is a “good reason” not to.³ You can learn more about the Child Custody and Visitation Mediation Program and how mediation works on the North Carolina Courts’ website.

North Carolina usually requires people to try to resolve their custody and visitation cases through mediation.⁴  However, under certain circumstances, including if you are a domestic violence victim, you can ask for a “waiver of mediation,” so that you don’t have to do it.⁵ For more information, see When can I be excused from mediation. What if I am a victim of domestic violence? If you can’t reach an agreement through mediation, or if you don’t have to do it because of domestic violence or other circumstances, then your custody case will go to trial before a judge.

¹ See “What is Custody Mediation?” in the North Carolina Courts’ Putting Children First Orientation Booklet for Families in Transition
² See the question, “What is the cost for custody mediation?” in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the North Carolina Courts’ Putting Children First Orientation Booklet for Families in Transition; N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-494(b)
³ N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.1(g), (h)
⁴ N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.1(b)
⁵ N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.1(c)