In re N.W., J.W., L.W.

Summary

The North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a mother’s petition to terminate the father’s parental rights based on alleged willful abandonment. The court held that the evidence supported the trial court’s determination that the father had not willfully abandoned the children during the six-month period preceding the petition, considering his child-support payments, efforts to register the Kentucky custody order, and prior attempts to reestablish contact.

Holdings

1. The trial court may consider a parent's conduct outside the six-month period to evaluate the parent's credibility and intentions, although the determinative period for adjudicating willful abandonment is the six consecutive months immediately preceding the filing of the petition.
2. The evidence and supported findings did not establish that the father willfully abandoned the children during the determinative six-month period.
3. Dismissal was proper because the mother failed to establish the only ground alleged for termination, willful abandonment under N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(7).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court erred by making or relying on findings concerning events outside the six-month period relevant to a willful-abandonment claim.
2. Whether the trial court's findings supported its conclusion that the father had not willfully abandoned the children under N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(7).
3. Whether the trial court properly dismissed the termination petition after determining that the sole alleged ground for termination was not established.

Disposition

affirmed