FAMILY LAW ARTICLES

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How to Protect your Inheritance from your Spouse During a Divorce

If you have received an inheritance, or a gift, or anticipate receiving either in the future, you may be wondering how you can protect it from your spouse in the...
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What is Alternative Dispute Resolution?

It is becoming very common for our clients to ask about alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In fact, in many judicial districts in North Carolina, the district court has adopted rules...
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Your Spouse’s Suggestions

Unfortunately, client’s commonly believe that an opponent’s suggestions should routinely be rejected because they are either bad ideas, or they reflect some ulterior motive. Some clients want to automatically do...
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Under What Circumstances Can My Spouse Be Required to Pay My Attorney’s Fees?

North Carolina law allows a judge to order one party to pay the other party’s reasonable attorney’s fees in certain family related legal matters, including child custody, child support, post-separation...
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Gifts during Marriage – When a Gift Is Not a Gift

Separate property is considered property (either an asset or debt) that belongs to one spouse individually. Separate property is not subject to equitable distribution and its value is not included...
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Is Debt Incurred in the Name of One Spouse Considered Marital Debt?

Under North Carolina law, “marital” debt is considered debt that is incurred after the date of marriage and before the date of separation by one or both spouses for the...
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Is It Considered Abandonment If I Leave My Spouse?

Depending on your reason for leaving your spouse, your spouse may have grounds to allege abandonment, which is sometimes referred to as desertion. In North Carolina, abandonment is considered an...

Equal or Unequal? Should One Spouse Receive More Than 50% of the Marital Estate?

In actions for equitable distribution, North Carolina law requires that the court distribute the net marital and divisible property equitably between the parties. Equitably, however, does not mean equally. There...

Who Took the Money in the Cookie Jar?

Many couples keep cash savings on hand for an emergency. Cash may be stored in a cookie jar, under the mattress, safe deposit box, or some other place for safekeeping....
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Can I Make the Other Parent Pay for Private School Tuition As Part of a Child Support Obligation?

The North Carolina Child Support Guidelines provide a formula for determining the presumptive child support obligation for parties’ whose combined adjusted gross income is $300,000 per year or less. The...
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How Your Health Insurance Coverage May Be Affected by Divorce

If you are separated and are relying on your estranged spouse to provide you with health insurance coverage through an employer’s group health insurance plan or other policy maintained by...

Know Your Rights before Your Divorce Is Final

There are an abundance of websites and forms online that are designed to enable people to obtain a divorce without the assistance of an attorney. Even if you intend to...