North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Tagged with divorce

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Williams v. Johnson, 2022-NCCOA-120 (2022) (unpublished).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

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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 →

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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.

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 the Claremont Road property.  Sam made all of the mortgage payments during the marriage.  These payments amounted to $9,900.  Sarah appeals from the equitable distribution judgment entered pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-20. Continue reading →

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On May 23, 2021, a cable car cabin crashed in Stresa, near Lake Maggiore, Italy.  Eitan Biran, his parents, younger brother, and 11 other people were in the cabin when it plunged to the ground.  Biran was the sole survivor.  The child was born in Israel but moved to Italy with his family when he was just one month old.  Biran had been living in Italy ever since.  After the crash, Biran lived with his aunt in Italy.  While visiting Biran in Italy, Biran’s maternal grandfather drove him to Switzerland without his aunt’s consent and chartered a private jet to take the two back to Israel.  A cross-border custody battle ensued. Continue reading →

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Custody battles sometimes can be bitter affairs between the parents.  In China, it is no different.  Unlike many court orders for child custody in North Carolina, courts in China rarely grant joint physical custody of children to divorcing parties, causing disputes over minor children to be extremely hostile.  The best interest of the child is one of the guiding principles for a judge in North Carolina when deciding how to structure a custodial schedule.  However, in China, judges are of the mindset that keeping children in their existing environment is what is best for their wellbeing. Continue reading →