By Ketan P. Soni Crago v. Crago – Mecklenburg County During the parties’ marriage, they both liquidated 401(k) accounts and pension plans due to unemployment. Husband went back to work, and Wife enrolled in school. A few years later, the parties opened up a joint account where both Husband and Wife would draw money, and […]
By R. Maria Hawkins In October, I organized a local event in Raleigh after falling in love with the book, Mommy Lawyer. As a mom of an energetic 19-month old, I was all too familiar with the guilt of missing out on parts of his life due to a busy litigation schedule. Once I read […]
By Becky Watts Chávez v. Wadlington, September 27, 2019, NC Supreme Court No. 366A18 October 2, 2018, COA 18-93 (third party custody, standing) Mother and Father were separated and had an informal custody schedule wherein the children lived with Mother and visited with Father. Plaintiff and Mother were in a multi-year relationship and during that […]
By Jill Jackson Happy November from the NCBA Family Law Section’s CLE Committee! We have some exciting updates to share about upcoming CLEs: The Family Law Intensive Seminar: Complex Emerging Issues in Family Law will be offered live at the Charlotte Marriott City Center on November 14-15 and at the Wrightsville Beach Holiday Inn Resort […]
By Ashley Grim Richard Bender v. Alisha Hornback Plaintiff’s notice of appeal was untimely and deficient under the Rules of Appellate Procedure and his arguments were without merit. Dismissed in part; affirmed in part. Plaintiff and Defendant entered into a consent order in 2014 in which Plaintiff was granted full legal custody and primary physical custody […]
By Ashley Grim Henry C. Watkins v. Jennifer L. Benjamin (f/k/a Watkins), Published Defendant and her trial counsel appealed from the trial court’s order of 28 December 2017 which concluded that North Carolina retained ongoing, exclusive jurisdiction of the matters of custody and support of the minor children.. The Court of Appeals affirmed. A temporary […]
By Becky Watts Martin v. Martin, July 16, 2019, COA 18-465-2 (DVPO, pleading requirements) At the hearing on Plaintiff’s complaint for a domestic violence protective order, Plaintiff testified about specific incidents that had not been mentioned in her complaint. Defendant objected to the testimony, but the trial court allowed it and ultimately entered a DVPO […]
By Becky Watts Bunting v. Bunting, July 16, 2019, COA18-839 (DVPO, harassment, legitimate purpose for communication) Between 2007 and 2012, Plaintiff obtained four DVPOs against Defendant. Defendant repeatedly violated those orders. In July 2017, Plaintiff filed a complaint seeking another domestic violence protective order. In her complaint, Plaintiff alleged that the parties’ custody order included […]
By Larissa Mañón Mervin With the welcome of October comes the opportunity to honor National Pro Bono Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month. While October is the month we choose to bring awareness to these topics, I want to challenge us to think about domestic violence throughout the year and to think about ways we […]
By Dave Holm and Brent Tanner Your NCBA Family Law Section made four legislative proposals that were approved by the NCBA Board of Governors and made part of our association’s 2019 legislative session agenda. We are pleased to inform you that all four proposals passed the legislature and have been signed by Governor Cooper. Three […]