North Carolina Learn
Child custody: the custody order, best interest, and mediation
Custody in North Carolina runs on the custody order — legal and physical custody allocated in the child's best interest — and contested custody commonly routes through district custody-mediation programs before a judge hears it. Custody and child support are separate claims from the divorce and survive its judgment.
The honesty note
Mediation programs, waivers, and orientation requirements are district-administered — your district's program and local rules control the sequence.
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Legal information, not legal advice. Statements about county or district practice defer to your county's local rules and the clerk — where this platform has no verified county data, it says so instead of guessing.