When Can Alimony be Modified in North Carolina?

North Carolina law allows modification of alimony orders based on changed circumstances of either party, paying or receiving alimony. The same factors used for establishing alimony awards must also be used when determining whether to modify an award. These factors include marital misconduct, the relative earnings and earning capacities of each party, their health, their sources of income, the assets and liabilities of each party, and their relative needs.

Courts must find that there has been a distinct and definite change in the financial circumstances of the parties in order to modify an alimony order, and it is considered an error to modify alimony based on only one of the statutory factors. Instead, the parties’ overall circumstances must be compared to the circumstances that existed at the time the original alimony was awarded.

Adjustments in Alimony and Showing a Substantial Change in Circumstances

In the case of Icenhour v. Icenhour, the plaintiff, Jeannie Icenhour, and the defendant, Jeffrey Icenhour, were divorced in 2012, at which point Defendant was ordered to pay $1,800 in monthly alimony. In 2014, Defendant sought a modification of his alimony obligation but was denied. He filed a second motion to modify in 2018, alleging reduced income and increasing expenses. In 2019, Plaintiff received a show cause order against Defendant for his failure to pay his full alimony obligation.

First Amended Order

An amended alimony order was entered in January 2020, lowering the monthly payments to $1,700. Seven months later, Plaintiff filed a motion for contempt and show cause order, and the show cause order was entered on August 25, 2020. Defendant then filed another motion to modify alimony in December 2020, a hearing for which was held in June 2022, and his alimony obligation was lowered to $600 per month. Even though his monthly alimony payment was decreased, he was found in civil contempt of the 2020 order and required to pay $100 per month toward the arrearage. He was also ordered to pay $50 per month toward $1,000 of Plaintiff’s attorney’s fees. Plaintiff and Defendant appealed.

Second Amended Order

An unpublished opinion of the appellate court in 2023 stated that the amended alimony order did not have adequate findings to support its conclusions, and the matter was remanded to the trial court. Upon remand, the trial court entered an order denying Defendant’s motion to modify alimony and stated that he failed to show a substantial change in circumstances to warrant an adjustment. He was ordered to pay an extra $100 per month until his arrearage of $36,600 was paid in full. Defendant appealed.

Changes in Expenses as Cause for Alimony Modification

On appeal, one issue Defendant argued was that the trial court erred by failing to consider his debt payments. However, it was determined that Defendant failed to show a significant increase in expenses. At the time of the original alimony order, his monthly expenses were $3,569. The trial court determined his expenses were $4,043 at the time of the modification hearing, which was considered a modest change. In addition, he did not provide sufficient credible evidence for the court to determine the impact of his changed circumstances on his expenses.

The Appellate Court’s Decision

The appellate court also addressed Defendant’s other issues, stating, in summary, that all findings of fact entered by the trial court were supported by competent evidence. The case was remanded to the trial court for a clerical error in the arrearage calculation, but the lower court’s determination that Defendant did not show a substantial change of circumstances was affirmed.