North Carolina Alimony Law

North Carolina's divorce laws can be very confusing, and alimony support can be even more challenging to understand. Fortunately, the State of North Carolina has outlined the procedure to determine alimony support. As a way to help our clients understand what they could be awarded, our Raleigh family law firm has provided the NC Alimony Statute below.

Factors to Consider When Seeking Alimony Support from Your Divorce

The North Carolina Alimony Statute, NCGS 50-16.3A sets out the factors a court will consider in determining the amount and duration of any alimony award.  These factors include:

(1)        The marital misconduct of either of the spouses. Nothing herein 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 the date of separation;

(2)        The relative earnings and earning capacities of the spouses;

(3)        The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the spouses;

(4)        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;

(5)        The duration of the marriage;

(6)        The contribution by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse;

(7)        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;

(8)        The standard of living of the spouses established during the marriage;

(9)        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;

(10)      The relative assets and liabilities of the spouses and the relative debt service requirements of the spouses, including legal obligations of support;

(11)      The property brought to the marriage by either spouse;

(12)      The contribution of a spouse as homemaker;

(13)      The relative needs of the spouses;

(14)      The federal, State, and local tax ramifications of the alimony award;

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

(16)      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.

It is difficult to apply these factors to any case without the assistance of an experienced divorce attorney.  We would be happy to discuss how we can help you analyze an alimony claim.

Do You Need a Alimony Law Office in Raleigh?

If you have questions about North Carolina alimony law, call  (919) 301-8843 or complete the form below, and one of our experienced divorce attorneys will contact you shortly.