HB 469 Summary

• Revises equitable distribution of pension and retirement benefits by clarifying calculation methods, distinguishing between defined benefit plans (using employment fraction) and defined contribution plans (using account balance method), and adding provisions for survivor annuities and pre-retirement protections.

• Expands parenting coordinator authority in child custody cases by allowing court appointment without consent in high-conflict cases, making decisions enforceable as court orders, and establishing procedures for review hearings and fee disputes.

• Modifies adoption jurisdiction rules to allow North Carolina courts to exercise jurisdiction when another state's custody order supports an adoption plan without identifying a specific adoptive parent.

• Requires courts to document birth dates and places for adoptees born outside the United States using certified documents or medical evidence, and allows agencies to redact financial information from preplacement assessments while protecting prospective adoptive parents' privacy.

• Updates adoption consent and relinquishment procedures to require advisement of the right to seek legal counsel, establishes Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children regulations in North Carolina law, and allows disclosure of file-stamped documents to persons who filed them in adoption proceedings.