Narrowly missing a deadline to make a payment to his ex-wife will cost a man $110,000 in the wake of a North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion reversing a trial judge’s decision to offer a bit of leniency by extending ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations North Carolina Court of Appeals

Herndon v. Herndon (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0940, 21 pp.) (Richard Dietz, J.) (Wanda Bryant, J., dissenting) Appealed from Durham County District Court (Doretta Walker, J.) N.C. App. Holding: The trial court violated defendant’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when the ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Digh v. Digh In a 1998 consent judgment, the defendant-husband agreed to make the plaintiff-wife the alternate payee of his retirement benefits equal to half of the account attributable to the amount accrued during the marriage, plus interest.

Tagged with: consent judgment Domestic Relations pension Public Employees Separation Agreement

Rochelle v. Rochelle The defendant-husband failed to comply with the trial court’s order compelling discovery, and the husband does not challenge the following finding of fact: “Because Defendant’s cash deposits are always more than enough to cover his fluctuating monthly expenses, it can be inferred that there is additional cash elsewhere to be able to cover additional expenses, such as alimony.” The inferred income surplus adequately supports the trial court’s conclusion that the husband was a supporting spouse.

Tagged with: Alimony discovery Domestic Relations equitable distribution unequal division

Duncan v. Duncan The trial court has ruled that the parties’ 1989 Cherokee wedding was valid and that the defendant-husband must pay the plaintiff-wife alimony; however, the court has not yet ruled on the wife’s request for attorney’s fees, and the trial court did not certify its rulings for immediate appeal.

Tagged with: Alimony appeals attorney's fees Civil Practice Domestic Relations interlocutory

Hillard v. Hillard After an equitable distribution order awarded the defendant-wife half of the plaintiff-husband’s military pension, the husband unilaterally elected to receive combat-related special compensation (CRSC) instead of his pension. Although federal law preempts state law with regard to CRSC and such payments cannot be classified as marital property subject to equitable distribution, CRSC may be treated as a distributional factor in a property settlement. The trial court had subject matter jurisdiction over the wife’s motion to modify the equitable distribution order.

Tagged with: Civil Practice Domestic Relations equitable distribution first impression Military Pension subject-matter jurisdiction

Crockett v. Prantner Plaintiff alleges that defendant called and emailed plaintiff’s husband in North Carolina in order to arrange meetings outside North Carolina to further their relationship and to engage in sexual intercourse under the pretext of business-related travel. The complaint thus alleges sufficient facts to authorize the exercise of personal jurisdiction over defendant pursuant to G.S. § 1-75.4(4)(a).

Tagged with: Civil Practice Domestic Relations personal jurisdiction Tort/Negligence

Sood v. Sood The trial court’s custody order was temporary in that it left open the issues of psychological evaluations of the parties’ mental conditions, the defendant-father’s child support arrearage, and holiday schedules after the 2012 spring break. In fact, the father concedes in his brief that the custody order is temporary. Therefore, the order is interlocutory.

Tagged with: Civil Practice Domestic Relations First Amendment Interlocutory Appeal Judges parent & child Religion

Peltzer v. Peltzer Even though the equitable distribution order does not explicitly state what percentage of the marital estate is distributed to which party, the unchallenged findings and a little math show that the defendant-husband was awarded 55 percent of the marital estate, rather than the 20 percent he claims to have been awarded.

Tagged with: Distributive Award Domestic Relations equitable distribution unequal division Valuation

Whitworth v. Estate of Whitworth Even though plaintiff’s equitable distribution action is no longer pending, her claims that rest on allegations of intrinsic fraud must be brought in district court; however, her claims of breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, and RICO violations against her daughter-in-law and the estate of her late son may be brought in superior court.

Tagged with: Civil Practice Corporate Domestic Relations equitable distribution subject-matter jurisdiction Tort/Negligence