Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina

If your daughter is old enough to have a baby is she old enough to seek out her own legal counsel? In other words, is she over 18? If so, why does she get her legal advice from some woman? Is this woman an attorney? I would not let a plumber do brain surgery or a carpenter work on my car. By the same token, I would only get legal advice from a lawyer and not listen to trash talk by some woman which may or may not be true.

If your daughter is over 18, then she is big enough to consult a family law attorney on her own. It is not ethical to discuss someone else's legal issues with you.

Generally, the law is that the parents of the child have a prima facie right to the care, custody and control of that child. Anyone can file a custody petition, but when a non-parent seeks custody of a child, that person has a heavy burden and must show parental unfitness and that the child's best interests will be served by taking the child away from its natural biological mother and placing the child with the non-custodial person.

If it were me, I would tell this ugly woman that she can either put her money where her mouth is or else your daughter can refuse to let her see the child. Custody actions are very expensive and unless she has money and is prepared to act, then all she can do is talk or call DSS. However, if DSS is involved, there is no guarantee that the child is going to be taken away from the mother or that they will do anything more than investigate if the complaint is bogus.

If this is woman is a grandparent, grandparents have NO rights at all absent an ongoing custody dispute between the parents.