Minimum Requirements

North Carolina law requires one spouse must have resided in the state for a period of at least six (6) months prior to filing for divorce. Additionally, the husband and wife must be legally separated for twelve (12) months prior to filing the initial action for divorce.  A married couple is considered legally separated once they are living separate and apart with at least one spouse having no intent of returning to the marital relationship. 

Division of Property

There is no set waiting period to begin dividing property. In the event the parties cannot agree on how their marital property should be divided, the court shall conduct an Equitable Distribution hearing. North Carolina is an “equitable distribution” state. This means the marital property shall be divided in an equitable fashion. Equitable does not mean equal, but rather what is fair.  

The court considers all of the following factors when determining what is fair:

  1. The income, property, and liabilities of each party at the time the division of property is to become effective.
  2. Any obligation for support arising out of a prior marriage.
  3. The duration of the marriage and the age and physical and mental health of both parties.
  4. The need of a parent with custody of a child or children of the marriage to occupy or own the marital residence and to use or own its household effects.
  5. The expectation of pension, retirement, or other deferred compensation rights that are not marital property.
  6. Any equitable claim to, interest in, or direct or indirect contribution made to the acquisition of such marital property by the party not having title, including joint efforts or expenditures and contributions and services, or lack thereof, as a spouse, parent, wage earner or homemaker.
  7. Any direct or indirect contribution made by one spouse to help educate or develop the career potential of the other spouse.
  8. Any direct contribution to an increase in value of separate property which occurs during the course of the marriage.
  9. The liquid or nonliquid character of all marital property and divisible property.
  10. The difficulty of evaluating any component asset or any interest in a business, corporation or profession, and the economic desirability of retaining such asset or interest, intact and free from any claim or interference by the other party.
  11. The tax consequences to each party.
  12. Any other factor which the court finds to be just and proper.

Financial Support

Not all cases involve support from one spouse to the other. The obligation of one spouse to support the other financially for a temporary or permanent basis is decided on a case-by-case basis as agreed to by the parties or at the court’s discretion. 

Similar to the division of property, there is no waiting period to request financial support. The court shall exercise its discretion in determining the amount, duration, and manner of payment of alimony. The duration of the award may be for a specified or for an indefinite term.

In determining the amount, duration, and manner of payment of alimony, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including:

  1. The marital misconduct of either of the spouses. Nothing herein shall prevent a court from considering incidents of post date-of-separation marital misconduct as corroborating evidence supporting other evidence that marital misconduct occurred during the marriage and prior to date of separation;
  2. The relative earnings and earning capacities of the spouses;
  3. The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the spouses;
  4. The amount and sources of earned and unearned income of both spouses, including, but not limited to, earnings, dividends, and benefits such as medical, retirement, insurance, social security, or others;
  5. The duration of the marriage;
  6. The contribution by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse;
  7. The extent to which the earning power, expenses, or financial obligations of a spouse will be affected by reason of serving as the custodian of a minor child;
  8. The standard of living of the spouses established during the marriage;
  9. The relative education of the spouses and the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the spouse seeking alimony to find employment to meet his or her reasonable economic needs;
  10. The relative assets and liabilities of the spouses and the relative debt service requirements of the spouses, including legal obligations of support;
  11. The property brought to the marriage by either spouse;
  12. The contribution of a spouse as homemaker;
  13. The relative needs of the spouses;
  14. The federal, State, and local tax ramifications of the alimony award; (
  15. Any other factor relating to the economic circumstances of the parties that the court finds to be just and proper.
  16. The fact that income received by either party was previously considered by the court in determining the value of a marital or divisible asset in an equitable distribution of the parties’ marital or divisible property.

In the event a hearing is necessary, with over 20 years of experience, SLF has the legal and financial expertise to protect you, your family, and your assets.