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Can't Live With 'Em Can't Live Without 'Em: An Analysis Of The Trial Court's Authority To Hear And Decide Child-Related Claims In North Carolina Post-Baumann, Amy L. Britt, Alicia Jurney Whitlock

Campbell Law Review

In Baumann-Chacon v. Baumann, decided in May 2011, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held for the first time that trial courts have the authority to enter orders related to child custody and child support before a husband and wife have separated. The Baumann court carefully distinguished its decision from the holding in Harper v. Harper, a 1981 case in which the court held that the wife’s pre-separation custody and child support claims should have been dismissed. The Baumann decision raises some interesting questions about the limits of the trial court’s ability to enter orders protecting the interests of children …