North Carolina recently enacted a new law that formed a regulatory sandbox for financial and insurance technologies (often termed Fintech and Insuretech). It also commissioned the formation of an “Innovation Council” that serves to receive and approve applications for “entry” into the so-called sandbox. This new law will be codified in NCGS § 169. Continue reading →
November is National Inspirational Role Models Month. I’d like to take a moment to praise one of my role models that guided me throughout law school and practice. Professor Shaw was my first year civil procedure professor. Civil procedure was the first ever law school class I attended. Before I go on, I should say that civil procedure is perhaps one of the worst classes to take first—it is filled with terminology that in retrospect, was not easy to understand coming from a non-legal background. Continue reading →
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/s4248
Child Custody in North Carolina is based on which parent can best provide for the interests of the child. It is an oft repeated principle that ultimately decides the issue. Children are important and the court is required to scrutinize the parents in order to make this determination. It is so important that, if a custody order leaves out the final determination that a certain custodial schedule would serve the best interests of the child, it is typically immediately reversable. All that said, should pets get the same treatment? Continue reading →
JACOBS V. DUDLEY, 2021-NCCOA-571 (19 October 2021).
Child custody can be hotly contested. Often people will have third parties (i.e., not the parents or guardians of the child) involved in some custody disputes. These people include teachers, doctors, therapists, and extended family members. Such individuals are often asked to come to court to expound on the parenting abilities of the parties, the child’s performance in school, and perhaps even the psychological state of the child. Choosing a good witness to introduce facts to the case is important. Below, we see an instance where one bad witness backfired. Continue reading →
The trial court awarded Plaintiff-Father Issac Munoz primary physical custody of the parties’ daughter. Defendant-Mother Cassandra Munoz appealed. The parties married in 2012 and the minor child was born in 2015. Mother was, and still is, a member of the United States Army. In 2016, the Mother was stationed at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina. When the minor child was born, both Mother and Father worked, but they relied on extended family to care for the minor child as opposed to placing the minor child in daycare. While living in Fayetteville in 2018, the parties separated. At the time, Mother was anticipating deployment to Iraq. Continue reading →
Lacewell v. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, No. 19-4271 (2d Cir. 2021)
Divorce can be stressful. The process of dividing property that has accumulated between you and your ex-spouse is a given. Questions regarding how you will split all that you have shared – the marital residence, cars, custodial time with the children – are all commonplace questions individuals ask themselves when going through a divorce. However, another issue has become increasingly commonplace among separating couples, and that is the question of how custody of family pets will be arranged. As people begin increasingly to refer to pets as their “fur babies,” family pets are slowly becoming a contentious topic for many divorcing couples. Continue reading →
https://www.nccourts.gov/news/tag/general-news/supreme-court-amends-the-rules-of-appellate-procedure
On October 13, 2021, the North Carolina Supreme Court adopted amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure. These changes will be in effect for appeals taken on or after January 1, 2022. A few of these amendments were directly caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and some were accelerated by it. Below are some major changes that will take effect. Continue reading →
Alaska’s Supreme Court recently decided an issue revolving around custody of a minor child born through artificial insemination to a same-sex couple. As same-sex marriages and reproductive technologies continue to be more commonplace, we are seeing an increase in cases that involve such parties. The law, as always, lags behind the times a few years, but it is imperative that the courts begin setting a precedent to allow such parties to adequately address the family law issues that have been so familiar in opposite-sex couples. Continue reading →
World Mental Health Day helps raise mental health awareness and promotes proactive measures individuals can take to care for their mental health. World Mental Health Day acknowledges the stigma around mental health and is working to alleviate it. Focusing on mental health and allowing individuals to have conversations about their mental health can make a huge difference. Continue reading →
North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog