Alimony
Definition
Alimony is an order for payment for the support and
maintenance of a spouse or former spouse.
Alimony can be paid periodically, such as monthly, or in a lump
sum, for a specified or for an indefinite term.
A claim for alimony is lost, if not raised before a court enters a
divorce judgment, thereby divorcing you and your spouse. So
if you have been sued for divorce, you may have a claim for
alimony. Contact Marie Mobley to discuss your divorce or
alimony case.
Qualifying for Alimony
In order to qualify for an alimony award, the court must find
that the party seeking alimony is a dependent spouse, the party
from whom alimony is sought is a supporting spouse, and that
an award of alimony is equitable after considering all relevant
factors.
If you are seeking alimony and the court finds that you have
participated in an act of illicit sexual behavior during your
marriage and prior to or on the date of your separation, the
court cannot award you alimony.
If the court finds that the party you are seeking alimony from,
i.e. the supporting spouse, participated in an act of illicit sexual
behavior, during the marriage and prior to or on the date of
separation, then the court shall order alimony.
If you and your spouse each participated in an act of illicit
sexual behavior during the marriage and prior to or on the date
of separation, then the court has discretion to grant or deny
alimony after considering all circumstances.
Amount & Duration
The court has discretion in determining the amount, duration,
and manner of payment of alimony. In determining the amount,
duration, and manner of payment of alimony, the court shall
consider all relevant factors, including sixteen factors
established by statute.
Marital Misconduct
Marital misconduct is one of several factors the court considers
in determining whether an alimony award is equitable and one
of the factors it considers in determining the duration, manner,
and amount of alimony payment. G.S. 50-16.1A(3) defines
martial misconduct as any of the following acts that occur
during the marriage and prior to or on the date of separation:
a. Illicit sexual behavior;
b. Involuntary separation of the spouses in consequence of a
criminal act committed prior to the proceeding in which alimony
is sought;
c. Abandonment of the other spouse;
d. Malicious turning out-of-doors of the other spouse;
e. Cruel or barbarous treatment endangering the life of the
other spouse;
f. Indignities rendering the condition of the other spouse
intolerable and life burdensome;
g. Reckless spending of the income either party, or the
destruction, waste, diversion, or concealment of assets;
h. Excessive use of alcohol or drugs so as to render the
condition of the other spouse intolerable and life burdensome;
i. Willful failure to provide necessary subsistence according to
one's means and condition so as to render the condition of the
other spouse intolerable and life burdensome.
Either spouse may request a jury trial on the issue of
marital misconduct.
Attorney Fees
If a dependent spouse would be entitled to alimony, upon
application of such spouse, the court may enter an order for
reasonable counsel fees for the benefit of such spouse, to be
paid and secured by the supporting spouse in the same manner
as alimony.
Changing Alimony Amount
An order for Alimony that has been entered, whether contested
or entered by consent, may be modified or vacated at any time
upon a motion in the cause and a showing of changed
circumstances by either party or anyone interested.
When an order for alimony has been entered by a court of
another jurisdiction, a North Carolina court may, upon gaining
jurisdiction of both parties, and upon a showing of changed
circumstances, enter a new order for alimony which modifies or
supersedes a previous order to the extent that it could have
been modified in the jurisdiction where it was granted originally.
