§ 7B-911. Civil child-custody order.
§ 7B‑911. Civil child‑custodyorder.
(a) After making properfindings at a dispositional hearing or any subsequent hearing, the court on itsown motion or the motion of a party may award custody of the juvenile to aparent or other appropriate person pursuant to G.S. 50‑13.1, 50‑13.2,50‑13.5, and 50‑13.7, as provided in this section, and terminatethe court's jurisdiction in the juvenile proceeding.
(b) When the courtenters a custody order under this section, the court shall either cause theorder to be filed in an existing civil action relating to the custody of thejuvenile or, if there is no other civil action, instruct the clerk to treat theorder as the initiation of a civil action for custody.
If the order is filed in anexisting civil action and the person to whom the court is awarding custody isnot a party to that action, the court shall order that the person be joined asa party and that the caption of the case be changed accordingly. The ordershall resolve any pending claim for custody and shall constitute a modificationof any custody order previously entered in the action.
If the court's order initiatesa civil action, the court shall designate the parties to the action anddetermine the most appropriate caption for the case. The civil filing fee iswaived unless the court orders one or more of the parties to pay the filing feefor a civil action into the office of the clerk of superior court. The ordershall constitute a custody determination, and any motion to enforce or modifythe custody order shall be filed in the newly created civil action inaccordance with the provisions of Chapter 50 of the General Statutes. TheAdministrative Office of the Courts may adopt rules and shall develop and makeavailable appropriate forms for establishing a civil file to implement thissection.
(c) The court may entera civil custody order under this section and terminate the court's jurisdictionin the juvenile proceeding only if:
(1) In the civil custodyorder the court makes findings and conclusions that support the entry of acustody order in an action under Chapter 50 of the General Statutes or, if thejuvenile is already the subject of a custody order entered pursuant to Chapter50, makes findings and conclusions that support modification of that order pursuantto G.S. 50‑13.7; and
(2) In a separate orderterminating the juvenile court's jurisdiction in the juvenile proceeding, thecourt finds:
a. That there is not aneed for continued State intervention on behalf of the juvenile through ajuvenile court proceeding; and
b. That at least sixmonths have passed since the court made a determination that the juvenile'splacement with the person to whom the court is awarding custody is thepermanent plan for the juvenile, though this finding is not required if thecourt is awarding custody to a parent or to a person with whom the child wasliving when the juvenile petition was filed. (2005‑320, s. 4.)