Some of the vital north carolina laws on divorce
Two reasons can be called grounds for divorce in North Carolina. Absence of physical relationship for a year at least and irreversible insanity that has been for three years, at least. The courts will try to do a fair split of assets. Below, we will discuss some north carolina laws on divorce regarding some issues.
Among the vital north carolina laws on divorce is for Debt Distribution
The spouse claiming a debt as marital that must be shared with his/her mate must prove a few things. They are:
- The debt was acquired following marriage but ahead of separation
- Generally, courts don’t take account of debts acquired following the separation of couples. An exception is a spouse acquiring debt for reimbursing a marital debt. Courts can delineate those disbursements as divisible property
- The debt was acquired for the mutual benefit of the spouses
- Money spent on maintaining couples’ residences and kids is usually recognized as a mutual benefit. A spouse’s child support and alimony obligations are his/her separate debts. Expenses by a spouse aware of an impending separation on medicines partially for increasing marital debt can be delineated as separate.
- Student loans taken for an ex-spouse during a married life can be delineated as marital debt. What if a marriage lasted long after the degree such that the debtor spouse enjoyed those benefits? The court could delineate the loans as a benefit that both parties enjoyed
- A debt that both spouses benefitted from that one spouse wasn’t aware of was delineated as separate by the NC Court of Appeals
Property division
Property division can be a time-consuming process. The reason? The court must know all property that both parties own, delineate it into any of the categories, and assess the value of the property. North carolina laws on divorce state some categories for the courts to use to delineate property during a divorce?
Marital property – It takes account of the presently-owned property that a couple acquired when they were married.
Separate property has some subcategories of assets. They are:
- Any property that either spouse owned ahead of their marriage
- Any property that a spouse acquired when married as a gift or inheritance from another party
“Divisible property” includes some smaller asset categories. They are:
- Changes in the value of any of the marital assets of a couple post-separation
- Income that either spouse got from the marital property after separation
Having delineated all property into any of the categories above, the court values and divides the property. The court first presumes an equal split among the parties as fair. Then, both parties can submit proof to contradict that assertion.
North Carolina laws on divorce give the courts 13 factors to consider to establish whether to modify the standard fifty-fifty split. Three of them are:
- The property, Income, and debts of both parties
- The length of a marriage and how old and healthy each party is
- Any commitment for support from a former marriage
Inheritance money in a divorce
An inheritance received ahead of marriage is regarded as separate property if the money remains separate throughout the marriage. If the money becomes co-mingled, it becomes a marital property that will undergo equitable distribution. An exception is when the spouse who inherited can “trace” the funds.
An example of inherited money getting co-mingled? It is put in a separate savings account that’s combined with any joint savings account later.
Tracing is easy for accounts having a balance of more than the inherited amount that was deposited. However, tracing can get tough when quite a part of the deposited money had been spent during the marriage.
There is also an NC law for separate funds like an inheritance that is put into jointly titled real property. It presumes those funds as a gift to the married estate. A case in point is a spouse receiving an inheritance and then using the money as an upfront payment for the married home titled in both spouses’ names. NC Law presumes it as a “gift” to the matrimony and considers it as marital. The spouse who inherited can rebut the presumption of the funds bring marital and verify that they’re separate.
For an inheritance received during a marriage, a judge must consider several things. Some of them are:
- Whether a spouse was named the beneficiary of an inheritance in the will
- Whether an inheritance was put in an account isolated from marital funds
- Whether marital assets were purchased with the inheritance amount
- Whether the inheritance amount co-mingled with marital assets. If yes, what sort of asset did it co-mingle with
Alimony
The “supporting spouse” pays alimony to the “dependent spouse.” When is a spouse dependent? The general law is when he/she earns less than the other. It’s for the courts to determine the sum, duration, and the way of paying the alimony. The alimony can be paid for a fixed period or for an unspecified length of time.
NC alimony statutes feature sixteen factors that help the court in arriving at an alimony determination. Four of them are:
- Marital misconduct – The case of a spouse having illicit sexual activity will have much influence on whether alimony will be awarded. Both spouses could ask for a jury trial for alimony in case of a marital misconduct
- Present earnings and earning volumes of both the spouses
- The length of a marriage
- Potential other income sources and their amounts for each spouse. Examples are benefits, retirement, and social security
Child Custody
North Carolina laws and courts usually want the co-parents to settle a child custody agreement outside the courtroom. What if the co-parents cannot arrive at a child custody arrangement and want to go to the court for certain custody rights? They have to inform the court of the claim.
North carolina laws on divorce about child custody are unlike other states. In a situation where most states grant joint custody, a judge awards primary custody to a co-parent and secondary to the other. Child Secondary custody in North Carolina is mostly visitation rights. The court can award Legal custody for making important decisions of the child to one or both the co-parents. The court evaluates and observes the co-parents and gives a custody arrangement in favor of one co-parent.