North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

Articles Tagged with family law specialist

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Wooten v. Wooten, 867 S.E.2d 767 (N.C. Ct. App. 2022)

Wooten v. Wooten came before the North Carolina Court of Appeals on Defendant Husband’s appeal of the trial court’s Summary Judgment ordering specific performance by both parties.

FACTS: The parties married in 1997 and divorced in 2016. When they divorced, they signed a Separation Agreement that stated that Defendant Husband would pay Plaintiff Wife $4000 per month and put $8500 per year into the children’s 529 educational savings plans. Continue reading →

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Wake Co. obo Williams v. Wiley, 2022-NCCOA-402.

Facts: Defendant was ordered to pay child support to Plaintiff in an order from Maryland entered in 2007. For enforcement, the order was to be filed in Wake County. At that time, Defendant was over $42,000 in arrears. Plaintiff filed their notice for registration of the Maryland order and later confirmed the registration through a default judgment in 2018. Defendant next filed a motion to set aside the confirmation because she alleged that she was not properly noticed of the hearing. The trial court denied. Defendant also sought to dismiss the confirmation pursuant to a motion filed under Rule 12(b)(2), (4), and (5). These were also denied. Defendant appealed. Continue reading →

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A person who is or plans to be a parent and has been or is considering engaging in sex work, either legal or illegal, needs to consider how that work will impact any future custody cases. Despite recent movement toward decriminalization of prostitution and increasing acceptance of internet-based sex work, such as the use of platforms like OnlyFans, sex work and any other sexual behavior can and likely will be considered by a judge when determining child custody. But don’t despair! Sex work is only one of many factors considered and, with a strong defense, you can still get custody of your child. Continue reading →

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Drum v. Drum, 2022-NCCOA-448.

Facts: Plaintiff is the maternal grandmother of a minor child. Defendants are the biological mother and father of the minor child. Notably, Defendant Mother was not a party to the appeal; only Defendant Father appealed.

The minor child at issue in this custody case had been living with Plaintiff since she was six to eight months old. Defendant Father visited the minor child less after Defendant Mother and the minor child moved in with Plaintiff. Defendant Mother had a drug problem and was not present for extended periods of the minor child’s life.

Plaintiff and her ex-husband were the primary caretakers for the minor child. They handled schooling, homework, vacations, etc. Defendant Father was a truck driver who was on the road most days during the week. He had never been a consistent presence in the minor child’s life. He also accumulated over $10,000 in child support arrears. Defendant Father never sought custody or visitation until court proceedings began.

Plaintiff filed for custody and was awarded primary physical custody and joint legal custody. Defendant Father appealed. Continue reading →

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Brady v. Brady, 2022 NCCOA 200 (N.C. Ct. App. 2022)

Brady v. Brady came before the NC Court of Appeals on Defendant Husband’s appeal.

ISSUE: What findings of facts are required to support awards of alimony, a distributive award, and the unequal distribution of assets. Continue reading →

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Discovery is the next step of a family law case prior to a hearing. Discovery is the process of asking for and providing evidence between parties prior to a hearing. Discovery looks for all relevant evidence that isn’t privileged, but those words don’t necessarily mean the same thing in the law that they do in regular life.

The Family Law Process – Part 7: Discovery (Rules 26-37)

Sometimes in a family law case, all efforts to negotiate or mediate fail and a hearing is necessary. In order to make your case to the judge, you will need proof of your claims. But what is your recourse if the other party has all of the information? How can you prove that your spouse makes more than you, for instance, without access to their paystubs or bank statements? Or the value of their car if you don’t know how much is still owed on it? Luckily, the court provides a way to get that information: Discovery.

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Recent high-profile trials have been live-streamed with great success. The Depp-Heard defamation trial and Rittenhouse prosecution were widely watched by many across the entire world through new media channels such as YouTube, as well as traditional television broadcasting. Recently, someone asked me if North Carolina would allow cameras into our courtrooms for similar high-profile cases. Remarkably, the Rules of Practice for Superior and District Court already allow them to do so. Continue reading →

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Everyone has seen a hearing on TV, but very few people know the process that leads up to that hearing. 95% of family law cases get settled before they even go to trial. Family law cases can be very stressful, but knowing what’s coming next can help lessen that stress. For a few weeks, we will look at the steps of a family law case prior to a hearing.

Part 6:  Mediation Continue reading →

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Plaintiff Nigel Williams (“Father”) and Defendant Latoria Johnson (“Mother”) were married on May 1, 2015.  Father and Mother had one child born February 17, 2016.  Father and Mother then separated on April 30, 2016.  On January 17, 2017, Father filed a complaint for child custody.  On April 28, 2017, a custody order was entered granting joint legal custody of the minor child to Father and Mother, primary physical custody to Mother, and secondary physical custody by visitation to Father.

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In Re TB, 2022-NCSC-43.

Facts: In January of 2019, Mecklenburg County DSS filed a petition alleging that the minor child in this action was neglected and dependent. They later moved her to foster care. The petition was initiated when police reported a domestic violence incident in the child’s home in early January, in which the father was arrested. When DSS spoke to Father and Mother after the incident, and both admitted to smoking marijuana, Father acknowledged he had mental health needs and that he had been in treatment for domestic violence through NOVA in the past. Mother said that she would have left Father if she had more family support. Father said he was willing to leave the family home. Father then agreed to go to Monarch for mental health assessment, and both parents agreed to submit to random drug screening. Continue reading →