By Ketan Soni The Supreme Court has approved Family Financial Mediation program rule amendments which require that next year, all District Court Family Financial Settlement mediators, whether selected by the parties or appointed by the court, must be trained, certified mediators. If you have: been mediating family cases, have not completed the 40-hour […]
By Tara Kozlowski From the Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution Commission The Dispute Resolution Commission is very excited to announce that proposed rule changes submitted to the Supreme Court of North Carolina were adopted on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Amendments to five rule sets, as amended, will go into effect on June 10, 2020. […]
By Rebecca K. Watts Hamdan v. Freitekh, decided May 19, 2020 During the marriage, Mother and the children lived in Israel, while Father lived in Palestine. Mother and the children moved to North Carolina without advance notice to Father—Mother alleged that the move was due to domestic violence issues and to her concern that Father […]
By Tonya Graser Smith The economic side effects of the coronavirus pandemic on divorced or soon-to-be-separated clients can’t be ignored. As family law attorneys, we know the flood is coming. We see the tidal wave. We see the stress of family and work, the emotional imbalance, the inability to make decisions, the very quick accusations […]
By Wade Harrison These are tough times. We have been forced to deal with the uncertainty and disruption surrounding this public health threat. Some of us have lost a loved one without the opportunity to communicate with them or publicly celebrate their lives. We deal with our clients’ stress and the financial stress this has […]
By Larissa Mañón Mervin and Jeanine Soufan On Friday, May 1, 2020, the Family Law Section participated in the North Carolina Bar Foundation’s first-ever “Virtual” Empower Hour. After our Virtual Section Meeting, members stayed on our Zoom call to login to NC Free Legal Answers and to help clear the Family Law question queue together. NC […]
By Rebecca K. Watts Quackenbush v. Groat, COA19-415, decided May 5, 2020 (DVPO) Plaintiff filed a complaint for domestic violence protective order, to which she attached 12 pages of detailed allegations against Defendant. At the hearing, Defendant moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. Defendant argued that the Court of Appeals […]
By Rebecca K. Watts Padilla v. Whitley de Padilla, COA19-478, decided May 5, 2020 (Custody Modification) The parties’ original custody order was entered in 2016 and granted custody to Mother. Father had limited visitation because at the time that order was entered, Father had ongoing mental health issues, an unhealthy relationship with his girlfriend, and […]
By Rebecca K. Watts Best v. Staton, COA19-638, May 5, 2020 Prior to the parties’ separation, Wife filed a complaint for divorce from bed and board and equitable distribution. Husband filed an answer to the complaint and a notice of “intent to file for equitable distribution.” In his prayer for relief, Husband asked that he […]
By Brinton Wright and Michele Smith If you’re involved in an interstate adoption and need to comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), you should know how the COVID-19 crisis affected the procedure for submitting a request for approval of a placement to North Carolina ICPC. North Carolina’s ICPC Administrative Assistant and […]