General Knowledge

Some family law lawyers do not take financial affidavits seriously and simply hand up to the Court whatever the client has filled out on the State form (by hand), and sworn to, without really reviewing it.  Not only is this a dereliction of our duty to our client, it could set them up for major [&h...

No two family law cases are alike and a “one type fits all” attitude regarding choosing a mediator may not lead to the best result. Some mediators take a very practical, no-nonsense approach to resolving a domestic relations dispute.  They will work quickly and efficiently to get to...

Often support negotiations are some of the most difficult negotiations in a domestic relations case.  While child support is a simple algebraic formula, alimony is an entirely different matter. The alimony statute lists 13 factors that all must be considered, none of which involve an algebraic form...

In February of 2005 the Family Court in Wake County, NC approved a consent order awarding Husband just over $106,000 in retirement funds to be paid to him from his Wife’s 401(k) by way of QDRO.  The requisite documents were never submitted to the trial court, and the ordered amounts were neve...

North and South Carolina are both equitable distributions states when it comes to divorce. This broadly means that all property acquired during the marriage will be considered marital for purposes of equitable apportionment.   While this may seem simple, those of us that do this work know the t...

No one on this earth lives free from exposure to consequences of other peoples actions.  When people are suffering terribly it effects all of us- just look to Ukraine as the most recent example. ...

Most people think mediation is a cooperative process where everyone sits around a table and calmly resolve all issues in the dispute rationally and with dignity. In Family law? Not quite.  In fact, family law mediations are so contentious that the parties cannot even be in same room.  Much of this...

I have heard in the media and among my liberal friends that Brittany was playing basketball in Russia because she could not earn enough income in the USA.  She was being very poorly paid when compared to NBA pay and needed to go overseas to make ends meet.  So I looked into this a bit, […]...