Abstract
The purpose of this Comment is to advocate for amending North Carolina’s child custody statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. section 50-13, to require the court to consider a child’s preference as to their custody arrangements to further align with legal precedent. This Comment illustrates the importance of allowing a child to express their wishes to determine the custodial arrangement that is in the best interests of that child. This Comment uses statutes from other states as guidance for proposing reform to the North Carolina General Assembly to consider and propose new legislation. In addition, the right of a child to express their wishes is described throughout, which is ingrained in North Carolina case law and has been upheld by the Supreme Court of North Carolina and the North Carolina Court of Appeals for 150 years. Finally, this Comment will propose a statutory amendment to North Carolina’s current child custody statute to provide courts with guidance on when the wishes of a child should be considered in a child custody proceeding. Specifically, it will propose that North Carolina courts must consider the preference of a child who is at least fourteen years old, or, if the child is younger than fourteen, then courts may consider the preference of the child if the child is of sufficient maturity and capacity to form a reasonable preference. In doing so, courts can empower children who are going through these difficult changes in their lives and show that someone is listening.
Recommended Citation
Katelynn Gallimore, A Call for North Carolina to Allow Children to Express Their Wishes in Child Custody Proceedings, a Given Right Established in Binding Precedent, 48 Campbell L. Rev. 179 (2025).