Raleigh Spousal Support Lawyer

Simply put – no. Child custody/visitation rights and child support obligations are two different matters. You need to keep paying child support. Meanwhile, you can take other steps to protect your right to spend time with your child. Child support is determined by either agreement of the parties in a divorce settlement or by a court order. If you stop making these payments, you could face a contempt of court charge, breach of contract lawsuit, garnishment of your wages or other consequences. So, continue paying (unless a job loss or other reason requires you to seek a modification of your child support obligations). If you have visitation rights, it is because a court agreed that it was in the best interest of the child. Whether they were stipulated to in a separation agreement or ordered by a court, your visitation rights must be honored by your spouse. In other words, unless a court finds that visitation does not meet the child’s best interest, you are entitled to visitation regardless of what your spouse wants. You can pursue contempt of court or contract remedies to enforce your rights if your spouse refuses to honor them. In many cases, this is a matter that can be resolved outside of court through negotiations between attorneys. To learn more, please see our pages on Child Support and Child Custody and the  N.C. General Statutes on support and custody issues.

According to North Carolina law, “a judgment of absolute divorce obtained by the dependent spouse in an action initiated by him or her eliminates that spouse’s right to alimony unless a claim for alimony has been asserted and left pending prior to the judgment, either in that action or an earlier action.”

In other words, any spousal support (alimony) filing should be made before a divorce is granted. Failure to bring an alimony claim before the entry of a divorce judgment will bar the right to bring a claim for alimony afterwards. And before you decide to end your marriage, it’s crucial to seek legal advice and representation from a competent Raleigh divorce lawyer right away, as alimony awards are determined based on many factors.

The first factor to be considered is your financial dependence on your spouse. Under NC alimony law, you are typically considered to be “actually substantially dependent” if you can demonstrate that after the divorce you will be unable to maintain the standard of living established under your marriage without spousal support payments. Exceptions, however, notably an extramarital affair, can nullify your right to spousal support.

As for the duration and amount of alimony, North Carolina law lists 16 alimony award factors. They include both spouses’ earnings and earning capacities, the marriage duration and each spouse’s assets, debts and liabilities. Alimony, furthermore, may be paid in a lump sum or regular installments and for a limited or specified term.

Finally, if you are separated but not yet divorced from your spouse, you may still qualify for what’s known as post-separation support, which can provide you with money awards until a permanent alimony agreement is reached.

The different types of North Carolina alimony and how spousal support payments are determined are complex matters that legal help from Charles R. Ullman & Associates will help you understand. While your goal may be to maximize alimony, your spouse’s might be just the opposite, and we will fight to protect your interests.

To begin with, you need to understand the two types of separation that apply to North Carolina marriages.

Absolute divorce—the termination of a marriage—must be preceded in North Carolina by a separation of one year of living “separate and apart” (in two different households).

During this time, either spouse can request what’s known as “post-separation support.” Couples may work out privately the terms of this support (in what’s known as a “separation agreement”) if they can come to terms on it, or it can be left up to the courts to decide the amount and duration of alimony. The conditions of the post-separation support may continue when the divorce is finalized, or permanent alimony may be established for the post-divorce period.

Another type of separation, “divorce from bed and board,” is a legal separation, or “limited” divorce. While it does not allow the spouses to remarry, it does entitle the parties to certain “incidents,” such as alimony. You might consider a divorce from bed and board if the other spouse refuses to enter into a separation agreement. This type of divorce, though, is fault-based, so you must prove injury on one of six fault grounds.

In any type of separation, calculating the proper amount of alimony can be complex. Often, the other spouse will challenge the amount and/or offer legal objections. A Raleigh separation attorney can advise you of your rights and options and aggressively advocate for your interests throughout the separation and divorce processes.

If you agreed to pay alimony in a separation agreement or were ordered by a court to do so, then you need to keep making those payments. Otherwise, you could face serious consequences. Still, relief may be possible.

If you fail to make your spousal support payments, then you could face a contempt of court citation or a breach of contract lawsuit. So, when you find yourself struggling to keep up with these payments, you need to get legal help right away and address your situation.

An attorney can help you to seek a court order to modify your alimony payments due to a change in your circumstances such as a loss of employment. A lawyer could also seek to negotiate reduced payments with your former spouse’s attorney.

Check out our page on Alimony/Spousal Support as well as the North Carolina statute that discusses the modification of postseparation support payments.

Parents can reach a child custody agreement out of court, and in most cases, they should. Otherwise, a court custody decision is left to the sole discretion of the judge, and appeals are very limited in these types of cases. Our Raleigh divorce lawyers have extensive experience negotiating these agreements, which are often reached with the assistance of a neutral facilitator/mediator. We will protect your parental rights and interests through the negotiation process and, if need be, in court.

Among the matters to be determined in a child custody agreement are physical and legal custody and visitation schedules. Physical custody refers to where the child actually lives, while legal custody describes who makes important decisions on the child’s behalf. In both cases, joint custody (in which the parents share the physical and legal responsibilities) is possible, and while the law presupposes that each parent has equal custody rights, the splits don’t have to be equal. When one parent is granted sole custody of the child, however, visitation privileges must also be determined.

Within the issues of custody and visitation are further legal nuances that need to be established in a written document. Child support, for instance, may be paid by one party depending on a variety of circumstances, while supervised visitation can be granted if one parent has questionable parental status. The two divorcing spouses may also wish to come to an agreement on a parenting plan, which describes how the parties will raise their child/children.

If you can’t reach an out-of-court custody arrangement, you will need to go to court, at which point the “best interest of the child” will be the primary consideration for all custody matters. Of course, your interests are also important, and you may be privy to information that shows your former spouse is not a good choice for custody or visitation.

However, even after the court reaches a final custody decision, a custody order may be modified. During and after custody agreement negotiations, Charles R. Ullman & Associates are here to serve your—and your child’s—best interests.