Articles Posted in Divorce

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Dolan v. Dolan, 148 N.C. App. 256 (2002). 

  1. Facts: Plaintiff and Defendant married in 1971. Plaintiff went to optometry school and eventually he started his own practice and also bought rental properties to supplement the family income. The parties separated in 1994. A claim for Equitable Distribution (ED) was brought in a counterclaim by the Defendant. For ED, the parties entered into certain stipulations. They stipulated to the values of the rental properties. There were some contentions in the proposed order. However, the Judge signed an Order, which found that Plaintiff would incur certain amounts for taxes for the “liquidation” of rental properties distributed to him, if he decided to do so. The Order also found that Defendant would incur taxes for the liquidation of the rental properties distributed to her, if she decided to do so. Defendant appeals. 

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DONATI V. DONATI, 2023-NCCOA-________ (2023) (unpublished). 

  1. Facts: Husband and Wife separated and a claim for equitable distribution was filed by Husband, who claimed that he ought to receive more than fifty percent of all marital and divisible property. Husband contended that he sold his separate residence, a house owned before the marriage, and then put about $60,000 of those proceeds into the marital home. The trial court found that an in-kind distribution was equitable, and that an equal division was not. Husband appealed and argued that he was entitled to the return or reimbursement or credit for the $60,000 that he claims was his separate contribution to the marital property. 

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SCOTT V. VURAL, 2023-NCCOA-________ (2023) (unpublished). 

  1. Facts: This is a personal injury case. However, the rules for service apply to almost all civil cases. There was an automobile accident in February of 2018. In February of 2021, Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit and attempted to serve defendant by certified mail pursuant to Rule 4 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiffs mailed the summons and complaint to a Ridge Lane Road address in Charlotte. USPS delivered the envelope, but marked “C-19” on the return receipt, as part of the contactless delivery policy the USPS enacted during Covid. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for failure to serve, stating that Defendant did not receive the summons and complaint, did not sign the certified mail receipt, and had not lived at the Ridge Lane Road property since May of 2018 when it was sold. Trial court granted. 

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Ivana Moral and her ex-husband were married for 25 years.  Recently, a Spanish judge ordered Moral’s ex-husband to pay her $215,000.00 as compensation for 25 years of housework handled by Moral throughout the couple’s marriage.   

 

Moral won the judgment after arguing before the Spanish judge that she had been burdened with chores and raising the couple’s two daughters while her husband built a successful gym business.  Moral argued she was exclusively dedicated to the home and family while her husband continued to build his career, accumulating and increasing his assets.  Moral also argued that the 25 years of marriage left her feeling “economically threatened, worthless, and dependent.”   

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Ne-Yo and Crystal Renay are officially divorced.  The couple married in 2016.  Renay initially filed for divorce from the singer-songwriter in August after accusing him of cheating.  The divorce was finalized on January 26, 2023.   

 

Renay filed for divorce in Fulton County, Georgia.  In the filing, Renay asked for primary physical custody of the parties’ children.  Ne-Yo and Renay share three children: Isabella, Shaffer Chimere Jr., and Roman Alexander-Raj.  According to court documents obtain by Billboard, the Fulton County judge presiding over the matter ordered Ne-Yo to pay Renay $12,000 per month in child support.   

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T.J. Holmes, the Good Morning America star who was axed after an ABC network internal investigation, has filed for divorce from his wife of ten years, Marilee Fiebig.  Rumors began that Holmes and Amy Robach, another Good Morning America star, were romantically linked despite both being married to other people.  After ABC’s internal investigation, it was decided that both should move on from the network and pursue other opportunities.     Continue reading →

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BASSIRI V. PILLING, 2023-NCCOA-___. 

Facts: Plaintiff and his wife were married and residents of North Carolina. In 2019 through 2020, Defendant and Wife began a romantic relationship while Wife was still married to Plaintiff. Plaintiff filed for Alienation of Affections. Discovery was served on Defendant, and Defendant served responses wherein he stated that he and Wife engaged in intimate activities in California, Nevada, and Utah, but never North Carolina—and that Defendant had never set foot in North Carolina. Defendant filed motions to dismiss based on lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The trial court granted the motion and ordered that the lawsuit be dismissed because the evidence shows no conduct in North Carolina. Plaintiff appealed.  Continue reading →

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ADJEI V. MAYORKAS, _____F.4d _____ (4th Cir. 2023). 

Facts: Plaintiff and Defendant were before the Fourth Circuit on a citizenship and naturalization issue. Plaintiff and Boateng were a married couple, and Plaintiff sought to become a naturalized citizen of the US. Before Boateng was married to Plaintiff, she was married to Gyasi in Ghana. Boateng and Gyasi obtained a Ghanaian divorce through a ceremonial divorce, wherein neither party was domiciled or residing in Ghana. Ghanaian law allows the head of households to perform to ceremonial divorce. A Ghanaian court subsequently certified the divorce. Later, Plaintiff and Boateng married, and Plaintiff became a permanent resident. Plaintiff then applied for citizenship and was denied because immigration believed that Virginia would not recognize the Ghanaian divorce.  Continue reading →

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Last year came to an end, but not before Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were able to close the chapter on their formerly wedded life and settle matters associated with their divorce.  It is reported that Kardashian and West will share joint custody of their four children – North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.  Despite this, sources close to Kardashian report that she will continue to have the children approximately eighty percent (80%) of the time.  The settlement also outlines West’s monthly child support payment, which is $200,000.00 per month.  Additionally, West is responsible for covering fifty percent (50%) of the minor children’s educational expenses (i.e., tuition), and security expenses.   

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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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