Child Custody in North Carolina Home About Us Child Custody Child Support Alimony Property Distribution Divorce Domestic Violence Links Site Map Seminars Search Child Custody Custody FAQs Law Court Decisions Custody Video 15. The non-custodial, secondary parent's time with the child is commonly referred to as visitation.
Visitation is viewed in North Carolina as a lesser version of custody.
Hence, the same principles apply to custody as to visitation in regard to the best interests of the child, parental rights, the child's wishes, and the discretion of the trial judge. Visitation refers, in other words, to the custodial time assigned to the parent with whom a child does not primarily reside. In litigated custody cases in North Carolina, the secondary parent is most frequently awarded alternate weekends, sometimes one overnight during the week or another evening for supper, half of all major holidays, and special days such as Mother's or Father's Day and birthdays. Over the past few decades, there has been a judicial trend toward increasing the number and length of visitation periods for the secondary parent, although different judges in North Carolina have different philosophies regarding this issue. A few judges believe, for instance, that very young children should remain in one setting most of the time.