Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina

If there is no order, then both parents have the right to custody and control of the child so yes, the mother can move out of state.

If your son is concerned about that, he needs to see a family attorney NOW and get a custody action started. It is much easier to start an action now than to wait until the child has left and to try to get the child back.

Note that if the mother does leave the state with the child, your son has 6 months to act. After that time, NC loses jurisdiction and any custody action would have to be in the state where the child lives.

All of this however depends on the relationship between your son and his wife. Courts are ill-suited to resolve thesee types of issues. Moreover, litigation is very costly. It also benefits no one but the lawyers.

If your son and wife can get along well enough (they don't have to like each other but for the benefit of the child, they need to be able to talk civilly to each other) they need to have an agreement drawn up concerning the custody and support of their child. If they can also address things like division of marital assets and debts, great. But they need to have an agreement in place regarding custody and the agreement can provide that neither parent will seek to move out of state with the child unless 60 days' notice is given to the non-custodial parent and they will work out any issues at that time (travel etc.)

You do not indicate where your son and the child reside - it makes a difference as states have different laws. I also don't know the age of the child or if the child has expressed a preference for being with one parent or the other. All these as well as other factors may have a bearing on the success or lack thereof of a custody action. For these reasons, I suggest that your son get a family law attorney and discuss his situation with the attorney. its not ethical for an attorney to discuss your son's situation with you.