Wilson v. Williams

ARNOLD, Judge.

Defendant argues that, as she has not been found to be unfit to have custody of Richard, it was error for the trial court to award custody to the grandparents.

The court made no finding as to defendant’s fitness to have custody of her son. However, defendant is correct in her assertion that there is no evidence in the record that she is unfit. And it is the general rule that where one parent is dead, the surviving parent has a right to custody of their minor children, a right which should be denied only for “the most substantial” reasons. James v. Pretlow, 242 N.C. 102, 104, 86…