North Carolina Divorce Lawyers Blog

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By Judi Rossabi

Divorce can be a heartbreaking experience. Everything changes, and even friends and family share in the ups and downs of a breakup. Back in the ’70s, a hit song by The Bee Gees lamented “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”

The song was a number-one hit and even became the title track of The Bee Gees documentary. The song is famous for such lines as:

“How can you stop the rain from falling down?”

“Tell me, how can you stop the sun from shining?” and most importantly,

“What makes the world go ’round?”
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A California woman is experiencing divorce in a way that has her fearing for her life.  Patricia and Ronald Dunn are residents of Los Angeles and are in the process of getting divorced.  However, Ronald is less than happy with the idea of divorcing Patricia.  To say this is a contentious divorce is an understatement.  At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 15, Ronald first arrived at the couple’s home in the Westmont neighborhood of South Los Angeles in his Chevy Impala.  He crashed the car into the home while Patricia was still inside.  Ronald then left and later returned with a dump truck, crashing that into the home as well.  Ronald then backed up the dump truck and rammed multiple vehicles parked along the street.   

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Colleen Hoover is unstoppable. To say she is a best-selling novelist is an understatement. In 2022, Hoover held six of the top ten spots on The New York Times’ paperback fiction best-seller list. She has sold more than 20 million books. Her social media presence reaches far and wide. She has roughly 3.9 million followers across platforms and that number continues to grow each day. Reviews of her books have become a sensation on TikTok.

With such a large following, her fans, known as “CoHorts,” are sure to make their opinions known. As a result, it is no surprise the CoHorts were quick to speak out when Hoover announced her plans to design an adult coloring book based on her bestseller “It Ends With Us.”

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Suppose you inherit money from a family member during your marriage. Is your inheritance subject to being divided under North Carolina’s equitable distribution statute? The brief answer: it depends.

North Carolina General Statute § 50-20 defines marital property as all real and personal property obtained and currently owned by either or both spouses during the marriage and before the date of separation unless that property is determined to be separate or divisible property. Separate property under N.C.G.S. §50-20 is real and personal property acquired by a spouse before or during the marriage through devise, descent, or gift. Applying the definitions of marital and separate property from N.C.G.S. § 50-20, any money or property you inherit from a family member would be separate property. Continue reading →

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Can you be awarded alimony when your spouse abuses alcohol to the point that your life has become unbearable? Like all issues in the legal field, it depends. Continue reading →

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Price v. Price, 2022-NCCOA-928 (unpublished).

Facts: In April of 2020, Mother filed a motion to modify child support. A hearing on that motion was eventually calendared for November of 2020.

In the meantime, Father had fired his attorney. Father did not show up for the modification hearing, and the trial court proceeded without him. Mother introduced evidence of Father’s income by producing in court his 2019 W2 showing a gross income of $251,918.59. Mother also produced records that Father was receiving $1500 a week in disability insurance between October of 2019 and April 2020 which was thought to be in addition to his income. Mother’s income was only $685.44 a week from her work.

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BOYLES V. ORRELL, 2022-NCCOA-916 (unpublished).

Facts: Mother and Father married in 2014 and separated about four months later. The couple had a daughter together, who is eight years old. The parties entered into a consent custody order and the mother had primary physical custody.

In March of 2020, the trial court entered a subsequent consent child custody order where it was ordered that neither parent would abuse alcohol or use illegal drugs, or abuse prescription drugs while with the minor child. It also allowed either party to request up to four random drug tests which would have to be performed within 24 hours. Continue reading →

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In the same vein as a previous post about starting new holiday traditions after separation, here are some fun ways Christmas is celebrated in other countries!

Holiday Celebrations Around the Globe

Japan: Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Christmas dinner of champions. Thanks to a marketing campaign in the mid-1970s, Japanese children associate the holiday with KFC. It is complete with the Colonel in Santa getups, themed containers for chicken and drinks, and a special Christmas combo bucket complete with all the secret spice chicken, salad, and cake. The lines get so busy that customers may wait up to two hours to get a bucket to go. Appreciation of food has no borders, and there is no reason why fried chicken can’t be the centerpiece to the Christmas dinner (except maybe health reasons).

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Creating a new family tradition can be a way to bring cheer to the holidays for both children and adults, especially when the family structure is changing due to divorce. One way to bond in a new family dynamic is to incorporate ‘matching outfits’, such as holiday themed pajamas or the famous ‘ugly Christmas sweater’. The following ideas can help you develop new holiday traditions after divorce.

Ideas to Try

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