Beavers v. McMican, 2022-NCCOA-547. Facts: Plaintiff David Beavers was married to Wife Alison Beavers in 2004. Plaintiff discovered that Wife had an affair when he found texts and photos on Wife’s phone, sent to a contact labeled “Bestie.” Wife eventually admitted that she had engaged in sexual acts with the…
Between the war in Ukraine and the droughts happening world-wide, fuel and food prices have skyrocketed in recent months. The cost of living has seen a significant increase, even here in the United States, and a set amount of money buys less than it used to. Divorce is almost always…
Shebalin v. Shebalin, 2022-NCCOA-410. Facts: This appeal arose from the appointment of a parenting coordinator. Parenting coordinators are often appointed to child custody cases when the parents absolutely cannot get along. Plaintiff and Defendant had a minor child together who was at the center of their custody dispute. The trial…
If you are an intended parent who lives in a state that does not allow more than two persons to be named as legal parents on a child’s birth certificate, it is valuable to consider all your options when deciding the legal structure of your growing family. The law is…
Almost all societies have traditionally recognized only two legal parents per child, the biological mother and father. Even in cases of adoption, adoptive parents could only step into the place of a missing biological parent. Despite this long history, this has never really reflected the reality of children’s lives. Many…
Suozzo v. Suozzo, 2022-NCCOA-620. Facts: Plaintiff wife and Defendant husband entered into a separation agreement wherein Defendant was to pay Plaintiff $200,000 in monthly installments over 240 months. This arrangement began in March 2006 and would terminate in March of 2026. For the first 18-36 months, Defendant made the monthly…
Sherri Papini was originally reported missing by her husband in November 2016 after she left their home in Shasta County, California to go for a jog and never returned. Three weeks later on Thanksgiving Day, authorities found Papini on an interstate highway approximately 140 miles from home. Papini told police…
In the United States, fewer than half of the children live in a household with just their siblings and married parents. The other children live in a variety of relationships and family structures that often mean that more than two people act as parents in a child’s life. Blended Families…
Webb v. Jarvis, 2022-NCCOA-499 (unpublished). Facts: This is a case for non-parent custody. Defendant Jarvis and Sarah Webb had a child together. They were not married. The parents shared custody of the minor child pursuant to a parenting agreement. In 2015, Sarah Webb unfortunately passed from cervical cancer. At the…
Plaintiff Jolin Brady (“Mother”) and Defendant Erron Brady (“Father”) were married on April 26, 1997. Father and Mother had four children. Father was in undergraduate school at Brigham Young University when the parties married. While Father was in dental school, Mother worked as a paralegal and then stopped working when…