Alimony

Lack of Financial Stability Contributes to Divorce

Published on: February 20, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to an article entitled Five Ways to Save Your Marriage published last week by CNBC, positive financial behavior contributes greatly to the long-term stability of marital relationships. Certainly, this does not come as a surprise to married couples in Charlotte working through these tough economic times.

Conversely, and also not surprisingly, according to reports by the National Marriage Project at University of Virginia, the negative effects of poor money management are one of the leading causes of divorce. Couples who do not manage their money well and contribute to savings together are more likely to accumulate marital and individual debt, which puts a great deal of stress on a marriage.

The National Marriage Project’s 2009 State of Our Unions report indicates that debt accumulation contributes to a sense of financial unease, which in turn increases a couple’s likelihood of fighting over both financial and non-financial matters.

Modification of Alimony Addressed by North Carolina Court of Appeals

Published on: February 10, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

On September 19, 2009 the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion in Underwood vs. Underwood. This case dealt with modification of alimony. A Consent Order was entered resolving the parties’ claims for alimony and equitable distribution. The Consent Order provided that the alimony payments would cease upon the death of either party or the remarriage of the wife. The Consent Order made no mention of termination of alimony payments upon cohabitation.

Seven years later the husband filed a motion to modify or terminate the alimony payments based upon the wife’s cohabitation, the husband’s decrease in income and the wife’s increase in income. The trial court allowed the modification and the wife appealed.

The wife’s position was that the Consent Order was not modifiable because the alimony provisions were integrated with the property division terms. The Court of Appeals agreed, noting that the test is not whether the payments are labled as “alimony” but rather whether the support payments and the property settlement provisions constitute reciprocal consideration for each other. The Consent Order at issue in this case contained language expressly integrating those terms. So, the Court ruled that the alimony provisions of the Consent Order were not modifiable and ruled in the wife’s favor.

Charlotte Divorce Cases are Affected by Changing Gender Roles

Published on: January 30, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

As previously discussed here (In the Battle of the Fit Parents, Breadwinning Moms are Losing Child Custody , “Deadbeat Moms” in Charlotte, North Carolina? What can lawyers do? and Men Marrying (and Divorcing) Wealthier Women?), American households are experiencing a gender role reversal with regard to levels of marital income.

This so called “rise of wives” has sparked a debate regarding whether financially successful women are a threat to traditional marriage roles. However, as recently reported by The New York Times, evidence shows that the shift within marriages has had a positive effect on marital stability and has contributed to lower divorce rates.

Statistics indicate that the more financial independence and education a woman attains, the more likely she is to stay married, as the end result is a marriage that is more balanced and equitable to both spouses.

View and Print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter – Winter 2010

Published on: January 1, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

In this issue we take a look at “virtual visitation” – the ways in which technology is facilitating visitation despite great distances in child custody cases. We also address they ways in which asset valuation has become more difficult in equitable distribution cases during these economic times.

Click here to view and print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter – Winter 2010:

CHARLOTTE DIVORCE LAWYER BLOG FAMILY LAW NEWSLETTER WINTER 2010