Thanksgiving is always a time of year that I look forward to. Every Thanksgiving my family reconvenes under the same roof to eat amazing food and swap stories. It is a time when you are truly able to slow down and enjoy each other’s company as a prelude to the…
Articles Posted in ClientVille
Alimony Deductions
Congress recently repealed I.R.C. §§ 71 and 215, which eliminated federal tax deductions for alimony. They have additionally repealed I.R.C. § 61(a)(8), which designated that alimony was taxable income. However, divorce and separation agreements that were executed after December 31, 2018 are the only ones this new law applies to.…
Smart Contracts Part 2 – Family Law Applications
In a previous post, we discussed the basics and legal implications of smart contracts built upon blockchain technologies. These smart contracts are one of the highly touted tools that are set to streamline business. The recent law that formed regulatory sandboxes to promote innovative fintech (financial technology) products portends this…
Smart Contracts Part 1 – Basics and Status at Law
For those readers that are tech savvy and keep up to date with financial developments, the buzzwords cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and blockchain should immediately ring a bell. Another development called smart contracts should also be on your radar. Essentially built upon blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, these smart contracts are one…
New York Seeks Dog and Divorce Law
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/s4248 Child Custody in North Carolina is based on which parent can best provide for the interests of the child. It is an oft repeated principle that ultimately decides the issue. Children are important and the court is required to scrutinize the parents in order to make this determination. It…
Choosing the Wrong Witness
JACOBS V. DUDLEY, 2021-NCCOA-571 (19 October 2021). Child custody can be hotly contested. Often people will have third parties (i.e., not the parents or guardians of the child) involved in some custody disputes. These people include teachers, doctors, therapists, and extended family members. Such individuals are often asked to come…
Child Custody With Two Military Parents
The trial court awarded Plaintiff-Father Issac Munoz primary physical custody of the parties’ daughter. Defendant-Mother Cassandra Munoz appealed. The parties married in 2012 and the minor child was born in 2015. Mother was, and still is, a member of the United States Army. In 2016, the Mother was stationed at…
Same-Sex Couples and Custody
Alaska’s Supreme Court recently decided an issue revolving around custody of a minor child born through artificial insemination to a same-sex couple. As same-sex marriages and reproductive technologies continue to be more commonplace, we are seeing an increase in cases that involve such parties. The law, as always, lags behind…
Oral Stipulations Still Not Binding
ZIMMERMAN V. ZIMMERMAN 2021-NCCOA-485 Previously, we have written about the use of stipulations in a case to maximize efficiency and what is required in an oral stipulation in the context of Equitable Distribution. (Our courts have held, for an oral stipulation on Equitable Distribution to be valid, that the parties…
Custody Modification and Prior Events
Blackwell v. Blackwell 2021-NCCOA-537 Facts: Mother and Father began a child custody action. Mother subpoenaed numerous mental health documents from healthcare providers. These documents would have purportedly been used at trial to establish Father’s mental health and substance abuse. In 2016, the parties had consented to a custody schedule in…