Dear Carolyn, My wife and I have been married 20 years. Our child is graduating from high school this year, and we are miserable. We own a home with lots of debt and we cannot afford to separate without selling our home first. We both work, but there simply is…
Dear Carolyn, The ex-wife of my new husband is constantly calling my cell phone, following me in my car, and making faces at me at the children’s soccer game. I get texts from her calling me names. She even threatened to come to my work. I feel intimidated. Can I…
When analyzing custody, the issue of who has rights to custody of a minor is commonly focused on the biological parents of the child. In the eyes of the law, under the right circumstances, biological parents may be disfavored in congruence to “third party” individuals who assert rights to custody.…
In a typical child custody case, the mother and father of a child are seeking the intervention of the court to settle their dispute over who should be granted custody of their child. Though this is the situation most often facing family law attorneys throughout the Triad, the cases become…
As contentious custody cases in the Piedmont progress, it is likely that a parent may be called “unfit.” In a legal context, this word has a specific meaning, and drastic consequences should the court find a parent unfit. In this second installment on standing to apply for custody, we will…
If you have been involved with a highly contentious custody case in the Triad, you know that family members will start coming out of the woodwork to ask for custody of the minor children. This phenomenon is even more prevalent when the parents are not adequately caring for their children.…
Winston Salem, North Carolina: Malecek v. Williams (2017) Derek Williams is a Forsyth County doctor who had an affair apparently, or at least allegedly, with his nurse. Playing doctor-nurse games got them in trouble with the nurse’s husband, Marc Malecek. The nurse’s then-husband Marc sued Derek for alienation of affection…
Dear Carolyn, I have been reading the horrid stories about children being left in hot cars. I also have been troubled by my next door neighbor leaving her seven-year-old son alone this summer while she goes to work. I have seen this mother lock the door when she leaves in…
Dear Carolyn, I know I should have kept my mouth shut during the divorce, but I didn’t. My daughter-in-law ended up with custody (not that it wasn’t somewhat justified), but now she is taking it out on us and won’t let my husband and I see our own grandchildren. We…
Dear Carolyn, I have a two-year-old and a five-year-old, and I am separated from their Father. I am filing for custody and divorce. I hear I am going to have to go to mediation with the Father, and I really don’t want to see him. I am not exactly afraid…