Divorce Alimony in North Carolina

Divorce Papers > Divorce Alimony > Divorce Alimony in North Carolina

The settlement of marital issues before the legal dissolution of the marriage is the prime concern during each type of divorce. Every decision is made as per the state laws and policies. However, these laws may vary from state to state. Many divorcing spouses may demand for financial support after being separated from their spouses. As a result, alimony support is kind of a benefit that can provide the needed financial support to the recipient and it is paid by the other partner. During settlement of divorce alimony in North Carolina, several crucial factors are considered prior to granting this spousal support to the recipient. For example, the longer the duration of the marriage, more chances of rewarding the alimony in a particular divorce case. Therefore, the alimony support order is one of the mandatory actions taken during the divorce proceedings in North Carolina.

Factors considered in Divorce North Carolina Alimony

The court ponders over the following issues while dealing with the alimony award in this state:

• What are the local, state and federal tax consequences of the specific award of alimony?
• The relative requirements of both the partners.
• The input of the spouses as a homemaker.
• How much property has been brought in the marital life by each spouse?
• What is the relative value of the liabilities and assets of the spouses? What are the relative debt service requirements of the partners, inclusive of legal obligations of support?
• The relative educational levels of the two partners.
• How much duration does the spouse seeking maintenance require to attain enough education and training to find a job that would fulfill reasonable financial requirements?
• What standard of living has been experienced by the spouses in marital life?
• If a spouse plays the role of a custodian of the minor child, then to what degree would the financial obligations, expenditures and earning power of this spouse be impacted?
• The inputs of one spouse towards the education, training or increased earning power of the other partner.
• The length of the marriage.
• The sources and amount of unearned and earned income of both the partners, inclusive of but not limited to the following:
  • Dividends
  • Earnings
  • Benefits like the following:
    • Social security
    • Insurance policies
    • Retirement pension amount
    • Medical and health care benefits
• The emotional, mental and physical states as well as the age of both the partners.
• The relative earning capacities and earnings of both the spouses.
• Any marital misconduct done by either of the two spouses: If there are any incidences that prove marital misconduct after the date of separation, these may be used as a confirming proof that supports other proofs that marital misconduct took place in marital life before the date of separation.
• Any other factors that the court thinks are just and proper to this topic and is related to the financial circumstances of the spouses.

Tax consequences of Divorce Alimony in North Carolina

As per the state and federal income tax law, the recipient of alimony should include the alimony payment as his or her income and the payer spouse must deduct it from his or her gross income. However, this calculation must be done only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

• None of the spouses should have designated these payments as non alimony.
• The payments must have been incident to a separation or divorce agreement.
• The payments should have been made in cash.
• In case of demise of the recipient spouse, the payer does not have any liability for payment.
• The spouses should not be currently living in the same household.

Termination of North Carolina Alimony

Any slight modification or complete termination of alimony support can be easily brought as per the requirement of the recipient or presence of specific conditions. Some of the considerate situations for this purpose are:

• The court can decide a definite termination date of alimony.
• If the recipient remarries, the payments are terminated.
• In case of demise of either spouse, the alimony ceases.
• In case there is continued cohabitation of the recipient with another individual to such an extent that the recipient spouse's expenditures are decreased, then the alimony may be terminated.

The divorce alimony in North Carolina is one of the necessary rights defined as per the state laws. Most importantly, the clients must take advice from the state attorneys in order to receive the updated guidelines about the procedure to be implemented to receive the alimony.

Divorce Papers