In re M.C.

Summary

The Supreme Court of North Carolina affirmed the trial court’s order terminating the father’s parental rights, finding that the trial court’s factual findings that he failed to pay a reasonable portion of the children’s foster‑care costs were supported by clear, cogent and convincing evidence, and that its legal conclusion that a single statutory ground under N.C.G.S. §7B‑1111(a)(3) justified termination was correct. The Court emphasized that occasional gifts or birthday celebrations do not satisfy the statutory payment requirement.