After you have provided for your immediate safety, use the legal system to protect yourself. Call an experienced North Carolina family law and domestic violence attorney. Your attorney can help you obtain a Domestic Violence Protective Order to keep your abuser away from you. If your abuser violates the order, he or she will face the threat of arrest and jail.
Victims of physical and emotional abuse are protected in North Carolina by specific Domestic Violence laws. If you are a victim of domestic violence, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your children. First, call the police or sheriff’s department if you are in immediate danger. Call 911 or go to the Emergency Room if you are injured. If the danger is not imminent but you...
The court can modify spousal support payments at any time. To obtain a modification order, a spouse must show a significant change in circumstances – such as a promotion with higher income benefits or other increase in earnings, a job loss, a medical disability or a financial emergency. If the paying spouse remarries and has an additional child to support, the court may modify his or her...
In a permanent alimony hearing, the court may also consider the marital fault of either party. In North Carolina, if a dependent spouse has committed adultery, he or she is barred from alimony. If a supporting spouse has committed adultery, the statute mandates payment of alimony. If both spouses have committed adultery, it is within the discretion of the judge as to whether or not alimony will...
There are no actual tables or guides for determining alimony or spousal support. Instead, the court reviews a number of factors to determine the economic needs of the potential dependent spouse while also considering the ability of the other spouse to pay support. Factors taken into consideration include: Amount each spouse earns or will likely earn in the futureSpouses’ agesMedical and...
Generally, there are two types of alimony or support. One is Post Separation Support which is monies paid temporarily to a dependent spouse on an interim basis until the court grants or denies spousal support in the case. The other type is Permanent Spousal Support. This name is misleading because after hearing evidence at the permanent hearing, the judge may in – his or her discretion –...
Spousal support is only awarded to a dependent spouse, and only if the other spouse has the ability to pay. According to North Carolina law, a “dependent spouse” is a husband or wife who makes insufficient money to pay bills and maintain a standard of living equal to the one he or she had during the marriage.
Alimony refers to payments made by one spouse to another spouse during the divorce process and after divorce. Today, it is more often referred to as spousal support. Spousal support is awarded by a judge to insure that dependent spouses can maintain the same standard of living to which they became accustomed during their marriage. Support payments can be made either periodically (usually...
Property division is one of the most complex components of divorce, particularly if your marriage has complicated property issues to settle. You should take steps to make certain you receive everything you deserve in the divorce settlement by contacting a North Carolina family law attorney experienced in matters of equitable distribution.
A motion for an interim distribution to either party may be made at any time after filing of the initial lawsuit. There is a presumption that the distribution should be made; the burden is on the other party to show good cause why it should not be made. The purpose of the presumption is to avoid one party having control of all the marital assets prior to a final distribution. The amount of the...
