Routten v. Routten

Summary

The Supreme Court of North Carolina held that, in a custody dispute between two biological parents, a trial court may deny one parent visitation based on a written finding that visitation is not in the children's best interests, without finding that the parent is unfit. The court also held that any delegation allowing the custodial parent to permit discretionary visitation was surplusage rather than reversible error, and it reversed the relevant portions of the Court of Appeals decision.

Holdings

1. Under N.C.G.S. § 50-13.5(i), a trial court may deny a parent reasonable visitation when it makes a written finding that the visitation is not in the child's best interests; it need not also find that the parent is unfit. In disputes between two parents, neither parent receives a constitutionally based custody presumption based solely on parental status.
2. The trial court's authorization for the custodial parent to permit some custodial time was not reversible error because the court had already lawfully denied the noncustodial parent's reasonable visitation under N.C.G.S. § 50-13.5(i). The authorization was surplusage and a humane accommodation rather than an improper delegation requiring reversal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a trial court may deny a parent reasonable visitation in a custody dispute between two parents based on a written finding that visitation is not in the child's best interests, without also finding that the parent is unfit.
2. Whether a trial court improperly delegated its authority over visitation by authorizing the custodial parent to permit visitation in his discretion.

Disposition

reversed