March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements of the countless women who have shaped the course of history. In the legal world, the Supreme Court is the pinnacle of the judiciary, and the six women who have served as Supreme Court Justices have played a major…
Equitable distribution in divorce proceedings sometimes includes provisions that one spouse shall keep property in exchange for a lump sum payment to the other spouse. The payor spouse may want to deduct these payments from their taxes, especially when they total large amounts. While alimony payments are generally tax-deductible, not…
Spouses going through the divorce process should not necessarily assume that the facts will speak for themselves or that they don’t need to take an active role in their divorce proceedings. Important matters are discussed at each hearing; every document the court asks for is vital to the case; and…
Spouses going through divorce proceedings in North Carolina may eventually have the option to file an appeal of a final order, but appealing a decision is not as easy as filing one or two documents. There are extensive requirements, and while some are relatively simple, like the requirement that the…
Self-executing modifications are provisions within a contract or order that amend the terms upon a specified event that may occur in the future. The legality of these provisions varies from state to state; some states have determined that self-executing modifications are typically illegal, and others have yet to make any…
Separation agreements in North Carolina are intended to lay out agreed-upon terms for spouses going through a divorce, and they are sometimes seen as a placeholder until a final decree of divorce can be entered. While it is possible to incorporate a separation agreement into a final decree in North…
When a spouse passes away, North Carolina law entitles the surviving spouse to a portion of the deceased spouse’s estate. The specifics will vary depending on estate plans, how property is titled, and a variety of other factors, but the state’s laws give spouses the right to claim an elective…
Property can be classified into various categories in North Carolina divorces, including marital and separate. Equitable distribution will handle these types of property differently. In most situations, separate property is not considered to be part of the marital estate and is not divided between spouses. However, the way spouses use…
In divorce cases involving equitable distribution in North Carolina, courts will sometimes order that one spouse pay a distributive award to the other. These awards are intended to balance out or make equitable the division of property distributed to each spouse. However, a spouse’s ability to pay a distributive award…
Assets like real estate and bank accounts may be the first types of property to come to mind when thinking about equitable distribution in divorce cases, but debts can also be distributed in North Carolina divorces. In the case of Read v. Read, Husband was ordered to pay a percentage…