Mull v. Mull. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-16-0897, 7 pp.) (Sanford L. Steelman Jr., J.) Appealed from Buncombe County District Court (Rebecca B. Knight, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: A modification of a final visitation order must be supported by evidence ...

Tagged with: Buncombe County Contempt custody Domestic Relations Substantial Change in Circumstances Visitation

The latest large heart-balm award - a bench verdict this time - has North Carolina practitioners debating whether judges or juries are more advantageous for plaintiffs. Pitt County Superior Court Judge W. Russell Duke awarded a jilted spouse $5,896,943, plus $865,150 in prejudgment interest, in a July verdict. Greenville attorney Cynthia A. Mills (pictured) said the facts made it the best heart-balm case she had taken in 21 years of practice.

Tagged with: Alienation of Affections Bench Trial Domestic Relations Family Law Heart-Balm Tort Jury Trial Tort/Negligence

Jackson v. Penton. The trial court had the authority to award reasonable attorney's fees under the express provisions of a separation agreement; however, the amount of fees was unreasonable where they were awarded to enforce a provision of the separation agreement that was unenforceable as against public policy. Affirmed in part; reversed and remanded in part.

Tagged with: Alimony attorney's fees Domestic Relations Moore County reasonableness Separation Agreement

By CORREY STEPHENSON, Lawyers USA, the national sister paper of Lawyers Weekly [email protected]   Lawyers should think long and hard before agreeing to represent family members or close friends. “The conventional wisdom is that lawyers shouldn’t represent friends and relatives ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Ethics Family Law Practice Management

  Martin v. Martin. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0866, 12 pp.) (Rick Elmore, J.) Appealed from Buncombe County Superior Court (Marvin P. Pope, J.) N.C. App. Holdings: (1) The trial court did not err in concluding that the defendant’s excess expenditures ...

Tagged with: Alimony attorney's fees Buncombe County Domestic Relations Expert Witness Fees expert witnesses

    By DAVID BAUGHER, Dolan Media Newswires   Divorce can mean a protracted, sometimes hostile court fight fraught with uncertainty for both parties. But recent shifts away from the adversarial process in divorce law may mean that the biggest ...

Tagged with: ADR Divorce Domestic Relations Family Law

Caskey v. Caskey. Contributions made by an employer to an employee's retirement accounts, including any 401(k) accounts, and insurance premiums may not be included as income for the purposes of the employee's child-support obligations unless a trial court, after making the relevant findings, determines that the employer's contributions immediately support the employee in a way that is akin to income. Social Security and Medicare taxes that employers are required to make on behalf of an employee may not be considered income as applied to an employee's child-support obligations.

Tagged with: Child Support Domestic Relations first impression Medicare Social Security Union County

In re S.R. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0865, 16 pp.) (Wanda G. Bryant, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County District Court. (Rickye McKoy-Mitchell, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Where (1) petitioner Youth and Family Services Division did not allege dependency as a ground ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations guardian ad litem Mecklenburg County parent & child termination of parental rights

In re P.O. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0864, 23 pp.) (Linda Stephens, J.) Appealed from Robeson County District Court. (John B. Carter, J.) N.C. App. Holding: The respondent-mother proffered purported letters from health-care providers saying she did not have a substance-abuse ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations evidence Hearsay parent & child Robeson County

A North Carolina appellate court has for the first time addressed the effect that payments an employer makes on behalf of an employee have on the employee's adjusted gross income under the child-support guidelines in G.S. § 50-13.4(c). "Any time we have a new case that helps us define what is income and what is not for calculating child support, it is a big deal," said Charlotte attorney Rebecca K. Watts, who represented the mother in Caskey v. Caskey (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0859, 16 pp.).

Tagged with: 401(k) Child Support Domestic Relations Family Law Income Medicare Retirement