What Is Alimony?

 

Alimony, also called spousal support in North Carolina, is generally awarded during divorce proceedings to assist a dependent spouse. The State of North Carolina considers a dependent spouse to be one who is substantially dependent on the other spouse for financial support.

 

 

What Are The Different Types Of Alimony?

 

• Post-separation Support - Many other states call this "temporary alimony," post-separation support provides a dependent spouse with financial support during the divorce proceedings.

• Post-separation Alimony - This is granted at the final divorce hearing.

 

 

How Do Judges Determine How Much Alimony A Spouse Receives In North Carolina?

 

North Carolina law does not provide a formula for calculating post-separation support or post-separation alimony. Instead, judges will use their best judgment, based on the facts of each case. However, there are certain factors judges must consider. Those factors are different for post-separation support and post separation alimony awarded in a final divorce.

 

To determine Post-Separation Support, a judge must base any award after considering all the following factors:

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• the standard of living the couple has had during the marriage

• each spouse's current earnings, as well as their earning abilities

• each spouse's debts, including separate debts and those they owe together

• each spouse's reasonable expenses, and

• any obligations that each spouse has to support someone else (such as a child or spouse from a previous relationship).

 

 

To determine Post-Separation Alimony, a judge must base any award after considering all the following factors:

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• The marital misconduct of either of the spouses. Nothing shall prevent a court from considering incidents of post date‑of‑separation marital misconduct as corroborating evidence supporting other evidence that marital misconduct occurred during the marriage and prior to date of separation

• The relative earnings and earning capacities of the spouses

• The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the spouses

• The amount and sources of earned and unearned income of both spouses, including, but not limited to, earnings, dividends, and benefits such as medical, retirement, insurance, social security, or others

• The duration of the marriage

• The contribution by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse

• The extent to which the earning power, expenses, or financial obligations of a spouse will be affected by reason of serving as the custodian of a minor child

• The standard of living of the spouses established during the marriage

• The relative education of the spouses and the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the spouse seeking alimony to find employment to meet his or her reasonable economic needs

• The relative assets and liabilities of the spouses and the relative debt service requirements of the spouses, including legal obligations of support

• The property brought to the marriage by either spouse

• The contribution of a spouse as homemaker

• The relative needs of the spouses

• The federal, State, and local tax ramifications of the alimony award

• Any other factor relating to the economic circumstances of the parties that the court finds to be just and proper.

• The fact that income received by either party was previously considered by the court in determining the value of a marital or divisible asset in an equitable distribution of the parties marital or divisible property

 

 

What Does The Law Say About Cheating And Alimony?

 

If the court finds that the dependent spouse participated in an act of illicit sexual behavior, during the marriage and prior to or on the date of separation, the court shall not award alimony. If the court finds that 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 that alimony be paid to a dependent spouse. If the court finds that the dependent and the supporting spouse each participated in an act of illicit sexual behavior during the marriage and prior to or on the date of separation, then alimony shall be denied or awarded in the discretion of the court after consideration of all the circumstances. Any act of illicit sexual behavior by either party that has been condoned by the other party shall not be considered by the court.

 

 

Besides Cheating, Are There Other Forms Of Marital Misconduct?

 

Yes, the below items are also considered acts of marital misconduct:

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• Abandonment

• Forcing the other spouse out of the marital home

• Reckless spending or wasting, hiding, or destroying assets

• Substance abuse or other "indignities" that make the other spouse's life intolerable, and

• Cruel treatment that endangers the other spouse's life.

 

 

Once Alimony Is Awarded, How Long Does It Last?

 

When a judge awards alimony, the order will state how long any periodic payments or income withholding should last. In most cases, alimony awards are aimed at helping the supported spouse become self-supporting after the divorce. That's one reason the payments typically are short-term, at least relatively speaking. However, after considering all of the factors that go into alimony awards, judges may order indefinite alimony in some cases, especially when a couple has been married a long time and the dependent spouse isn't likely to become fully self-supporting due to advanced age, disability, or other circumstances. Support automatically ends when the spouse dies, remarries or is cohabitating with a new partner.

 

 

What is Cohabitation?

 

Cohabitation means living with another adult continuously and habitually in a relationship that includes sexual relations as well as the type of mutual duties, obligations, and rights that you would normally see in a legal marriage.

 

 

How Does Cohabitation Affect Alimony?

 

Cohabitation is definitely grounds to ask for termination of alimony. You can request this from the court by filing a motion (written legal request) with the court. But to succeed, a requesting spouse must be able to prove that since the current order was issued, cohabitation has occurred. This is where a Private Investigator can help you.

 

How Can A Private Investigator Help Me Prove My Ex Is In Cohabitation With Another Person?

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Proving cohabitation can be extremely challenging but proof is required by the court in order to consider having alimony stopped. Call Investigate NC now and speak to a licensed Alimony/Cohabitation Private Investigator Raleigh NC. We have the training, equipment and experience to help you win your case in court!