North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Tagged with divorce attorney

Published on:

By

Wayne Hopper, Legal Assistant

Sorey v. Sorey, 757 S.E.2d 518 (2014)

Divorce is not something anyone expects when they get married. The end of a marriage can be more difficult when one spouse has engaged in behavior that violates the fundamental tenets of marriage. Such behavior is considered marital misconduct in the legal world, and it can take different forms, such as sexual affairs, reckless spending, abandonment, or excessive substance abuse. Misconduct can lead to separation or the end of a marriage. North Carolina law addresses marital misconduct as a cause of separation or divorce and how it may be considered in claims for post-separation or alimony. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Maddukuri v. Chintanippu, 2022-NCCOA-128 (1 March 2022)

Stipulations are often used to expedite portions of a case/trial so that there is no time wasted on them, allowing the court to focus on the issues that are actually in contention. The use of stipulations of fact is pretty common. It removes the inconvenience of having to show evidence of facts that no one contests. Stipulations can also be used for settlement. These allow for the concession between parties of some rights in return for others. Below is a case where the Court dealt with the potential withdrawal of a stipulation. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Wayne Hopper, Legal Assistant

STEWART v. STEWART, 141 NC App. 236

Dividing assets collected throughout a marriage is an unfortunate but necessary undertaking with divorce. This process can cause conflict, especially when the asset was brought into the marriage by one party. In North Carolina, a business stake or an interest in a professional practice can be considered a marital asset subject to Equitable Distribution. While a premarital agreement is worth considering for a party bringing assets into a marriage, the language contained therein is just as important. Your spouse may challenge a premarital agreement without clear and suitable terms. Let’s look at one such case.    Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Williams v. Johnson, 2022-NCCOA-120 (2022) (unpublished).

  • Facts: Mother and Father were in a custody case over their minor child. On April 28, 2017, Mother was awarded primary custody, and Father received visitation. A few years later, on August 11, 2020, the trial court modified the custody but later vacated their order, reverting back to the April 28 Order. In October of 2020, Father filed to modify the custody. Linda Key was called on to testify that, for the past three years, she was the caretaker for the minor child. Ms. Key is not a party to this case and has not entered into the case in any form. Trial court granted custody of the minor child to Ms. Key and found that both parents had acted contrary to their protected status as parents. Father appealed.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Wayne Hopper, Legal Assistant

King v. Huizar (In re Huizar), 609 BR 482

Only a handful of states still recognize alienation of affection and criminal conversation as actionable torts. North Carolina is one of those states. These claims have their roots in old English law, where a man could essentially sue for the “theft” of his wife. Modern Alienation of Affection/Criminal Conversation laws allow spouses of either gender to bring a suit.

While similar in spirit, these two torts differ in what they assert. In an alienation of affection claim, one spouse is seeking damages against a third party for wrongful acts that interfered with the marital relationship, thus depriving them of the love and affection of their spouse. They are sometimes colloquially referred to as “homewrecker” laws or “heartbalm” torts. On the other hand, criminal conversation refers specifically to adulterous, extramarital sexual acts between the Plaintiff’s spouse and a third party. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Imagine separating from your husband but never filing for divorce.  Now imagine separating from your husband, never filing for divorce, and learning years later that you had actually been divorced for approximately 12 years.  This is exactly what happened to a woman living in the United Kingdom.

 

Rachpal and Kewal Randhawa were married in 1978 in Berkshire, a county in southeast England.  The couple parted ways and separated in 2009.  Despite separating, the couple still attended family functions as husband and wife.  Rumors spread that Mr. Randhawa had even had a child with another woman, but Mrs. Randhawa stated she remained unaware of his relationship status.

Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Wayne Hopper, Legal Assistant

Williams v. Williams, 261 S.E.2d 849 (1980)

Alimony (also called spousal support in North Carolina) is a form of financial support awarded during a divorce proceeding and serves as a means to assist a dependent spouse post marriage. A “dependent spouse” is a person substantially reliant on their spouse for financial support or maintenance. Under North Carolina law, either spouse can receive alimony so long as they meet one of two criteria: (1) the spouse cannot meet their own reasonable financial needs without the other spouse’s income or assets, or (2) the spouse cannot maintain the standard of living they have enjoyed during the marriage absent the other spouse’s income or assets. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

Wooten v. Wooten, III, 2022-NCCOA-121, (unpublished).

Here in North Carolina, separation agreements are treated the same as contracts. This means the parties can be more flexible with their terms and agreements, not necessarily confined to the stricter terms that a court order would typically proscribe. One such provision is the support of children in their higher education endeavors. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

As COVID-19 persists in our daily lives, the war on vaccines rages on. Many parents continue to disagree about vaccination status concerning themselves and their minor children.  Two parents who currently reside in New Brunswick, Canada, have found themselves in a heated disagreement with each other over vaccines and sought a judge to rule on the disagreement.  The parents, who are not identified in the court ruling, separated in 2019 and share custody of their three children. Continue reading →

Published on:

By

It is finally happening. We’ve written previously on how smart contracts, blockchains, and NFTs may culminate into a new-age method of property ownership. It is now time to put the theory to the test. A virtual currency/smart contract/blockchain/NFT startup is planning on being the first to use these new virtual blockchain technologies to sell a piece of real property. Kind of. Continue reading →