Sam Willis and Sarah Willis were married in August 1981. Sam filed his Complaint on March 28, 1985, seeking a divorce from bed and board, alimony, and equitable distribution. Before the parties married, Sam sold Sarah a house and lot on Claremont Road. Throughout the marriage, the couple lived at…
Articles Posted in alimony
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Congress recently repealed I.R.C. §§ 71 and 215, which eliminated federal tax deductions for alimony. They have additionally repealed I.R.C. § 61(a)(8), which designated that alimony was taxable income.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.…
Don’t Wait to Obtain a QDRO
By: Carolyn J. Woodruff, JD, CPA, CVAPatterson v. Chrysler Group Addendum Shortly after the Sixth Circuit decided Patterson v. Chrylser Group, 845 F.3d 756 (2017), I first wrote about this case. Based on some recent comments, updating the blog with dates for clarification is necessary. The issue is when the statute of limitations starts on the…
Sports Betting and Reckless Spending
North Carolina will soon decide whether to make gambling on sports legal. There are two bills, one in the North Carolina House, the other in the Senate. House Bill 631 of the 2021 Session is a bill to authorize and regulate sports wagering. Senate Bill 688 looks to be a…
Cohabitation as an Alimony Defense
Orren v. Orren, 800 S.E.2d 472, 253 N.C.App. 480 (N.C. App. 2017) We have previously written about what cohabitation means in the alimony and postseparation support context. Essentially, according to North Carolina law, it is an appropriate termination point for alimony and postseparation support. But in some cases, a party…
Homemaker Contributions and Their Alimony Value
In North Carolina, we see cases where one spouse is primarily a breadwinner for the family, often bringing in most if not all of the income. In those case, the other spouse is the homemaker, the one that cares for the children and/or pets and maintains the home. And when…
Alimony – Who Is Dependent, Who Is Supporting?
Madar v. Madar, No.COA20-28 (Dec. 2020). In North Carolina, alimony is a type of spousal support that provides for the maintenance of a dependent spouse, by the supporting spouse. Dependent and supporting are legal terms, with incredible significance. In order to receive alimony, one must be a dependent spouse, the…
Limits on Alimony as a Result of Condoned Marital Misconduct
In Ellis v. Ellis, the North Carolina Court of Appeals reviewed N.C.G.S. § 50-16.3A and the lower court’s application of the statute. It considered the sixteen relevant factors included in the statute to determine the amount, duration, and method of payment for an award of alimony when there were acts…
Social Security and Child Support
Suppose you are separated or divorced, or you have recently retired or been placed on disability, and are the parent of a minor child. If you receive dependent benefits through Social Security or the Veterans Administration, your child support obligation may be reduced or eliminated, provided you are not behind…
Alimony and Marital Misconduct
Horner v. Horner, No. COA19-632 (unpublished) An alimony claim in North Carolina requires one spouse to be a dependent spouse and the other spouse to be a supporting spouse. A dependent spouse, as defined by statute, is a spouse who is “actually substantially dependent upon the other spouse for…