Articles Tagged with appeals

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Spouses in North Carolina who are contemplating divorce may consider entering into a separation agreement, and this is a beneficial option for many husbands and wives. What happens if one spouse violates the terms of the agreement? Separation agreements that are not incorporated into a court order are typically subject to the same enforcement rules as other contracts. Continue reading →

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North Carolina family law cases often decide on some of the most important elements of a person’s life. From property and assets in a divorce to child custody arrangements, the outcome of these cases can significantly impact everyone involved. If you feel that the court’s decision is incorrect or unjust, you may be able to file an appeal.

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In North Carolina, parties to a case may be able to file an appeal if they believe the trial court made a mistake of law or legal procedure.[1] Appeals courts analyze decisions by the trial courts to determine if the law was applied appropriately and to ensure there were no conduct errors. There are a few potential rulings that the appeals court can make. Continue reading →

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It isn’t uncommon for at least one party in a divorce, child custody, or support matter to be disappointed with the outcome of the case. Some people may think that filing an appeal is an obvious option to have another shot at a more favorable judgment, but that’s not how it works. When you appeal, the appeals judge will examine the decision made by the lower court to look for possible mistakes, omissions, or misapplications of the law. Continue reading →

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If you have an active or pending family law case, you have likely heard many terms that you’re not familiar with. The complexity of North Carolina laws can make family law proceedings difficult to navigate, especially when you aren’t fluent in legalese. If your case has already been through a preliminary hearing or has temporary order in place, you may have heard the word interlocutory.

Outside of the legal world, this is not a common word, so it’s understandable if you have questions about what it means for your pending case. Continue reading →

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AMAN V. NICHOLSON, 2023-NCCOA-________ (2023). 

  1. Facts:  Plaintiff and Defendant are parents of a minor child. They separated in fall of 2019. Plaintiff filed for custody, and a temporary order was entered. The temporary order granted joint legal custody (decision making) and primary physical custody to Plaintiff, visitation to Defendant. It further required each party to obtain and exchange psychological evaluations and to attend counseling. Eventually, the custody matter was set for trial in spring of 2021. On the first day of trial, Defendant provided a list to Plaintiff containing three expert witnesses that he planned on calling to testify. Defendant also provided the witnesses’ CVs and the written reports of two of the witnesses.  Plaintiff objected and wanted to exclude the expert testimony. The trial court agreed, and entered an Order that excluded Defendant’s three expert witnesses from testifying. When trying to settle the record on appeal, Defendant wanted the CVs and written reports of the experts included, while Plaintiff objected to their inclusion. In judicial settlement of the record, the trial court ordered that the reports and CVs not be included. Defendant appealed. 

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Shebalin v. Shebalin, 2022-NCCOA-410.

Facts:

This appeal arose from the appointment of a parenting coordinator. Parenting coordinators are often appointed to child custody cases when the parents absolutely cannot get along. Plaintiff and Defendant had a minor child together who was at the center of their custody dispute. The trial court’s finding was that the case had become “high conflict” and thus a parenting coordinator was appointed for a term of years. In 2019, Defendant filed a motion to appoint again and was met with a motion to dismiss. At the hearing on these motions in 2020, the trial court again labeled the case high conflict, denied the motion to dismiss, and then set out a future date for the appointment of a coordinator. Continue reading →