Who Gets Alimony in North Carolina (and Why)?

Alimony in Divorce
Why Do Courts Award Alimony?
The Two Types of Spousal Support
When Is Someone Eligible for Alimony?
What Factors Affect the Amount of Alimony?
How Long Do Alimony Payments Last?
Additional Factors
Have Questions About Alimony in your North Carolina Divorce? Call Myers Law Firm Today

Alimony in Divorce

Whether the cause is marital misconduct or simply growing apart, divorce proceedings can be contentious. One area of disagreement is future financial support or maintenance for the other spouse, known as alimony or spousal support.

Many people come into a divorce with mistaken or outdated ideas about what alimony is and how it works. Under North Carolina law, alimony isn’t automatically granted. The law is centered on fairness or “reasonableness,” awarding alimony in cases with a supporting spouse and a dependent spouse when it is “equitable after considering all relevant factors.”

Why Do Courts Award Alimony in the State of North Carolina?

Providing income isn’t the only important way that spouses contribute to a marriage. Alimony attempts to ensure that a lower-earning spouse who contributed to the family in other important ways doesn’t leave the marriage at an unfair disadvantage.

Often, one spouse chooses to pass up income and career development opportunities for the good of the household. Both partners benefit from this arrangement. But if the couple separates, the spouse who made these sacrifices suddenly has no way to support themselves and maintain the same lifestyle they’re used to.

Meanwhile, the spouse with the greater income continues to benefit from the sacrifices their partner made throughout the marriage. The higher-earning spouse probably wouldn’t have been able to earn as much money and advance their career if the other spouse hadn’t devoted time to taking care of children or supporting the household in other ways.

The idea behind alimony is to let both spouses walk away from the marriage on equal footing while they figure out a path forward.

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The Two Types of Spousal Support in North Carolina

There are two different types of spousal support that can be awarded by a judge in North Carolina.

Postseparation support provides temporary financial support to a dependent spouse. Postseparation support is essentially temporary alimony that is supposed to be a stopgap while the alimony claim is proceeding. Postseparation support lasts until any of the following things occur:

The date specified in the postseparation support order
The judge grants or dismisses the alimony claim
The divorce becomes final when no alimony claim is pending
The dependent spouse gets remarried or moves in with a new significant other
Either spouse dies

Alimony is more permanent than postseparation support. Usually, the supporting spouse pays alimony regularly for a specified amount of time, but sometimes alimony payments go on indefinitely.

When Is Someone Eligible for Alimony in North Carolina?

Many people believe that alimony always involves an ex-husband making payments to an ex-wife, but that’s an outdated stereotype. North Carolina’s alimony laws do not favor one gender over another, and alimony can also be a factor in same-sex divorces.

Either spouse can receive alimony if they meet one of two criteria:

The spouse can’t meet their own reasonable financial needs without money from the other spouse.
The spouse can’t maintain a similar standard of living they enjoyed during the marriage without monetary support.

The judge in your case will decide which spouse, if either, meets the criteria and is eligible for alimony.

What Factors Affect the Amount of Alimony?

When a judge in North Carolina considers how much alimony a spouse might be eligible for and how long alimony should last, they will examine:

Earning capabilities of both spouses
The earned and unearned income for both spouses, including dividends, retirement accounts, social security, insurance, and more.
How a spouse will be financially affected by serving as a custodian to a minor child
The length of the marriage
The standard of living or lifestyle during the marriage
Assets and property acquired during the marriage
Each spouse’s disabilities or other unique needs
Each spouse’s age and physical and mental health
Marital misconduct. NC courts consider marital misconduct to be any of the following:
- Adultery
- Abandonment (physical or emotional)
- Committing a crime that causes separation between the spouses
- Reckless spending or the destruction, waste, or hiding of assets
- Dangerous behavior that puts the other spouse in harm’s way
- Abusing alcohol or drugs in a way that makes the other spouse’s life unbearable
- Kicking the other spouse out of the house and not allowing them to return
- Refusing to provide material support for the other spouse (food, shelter, money) even though they need the support and it’s feasible to provide it
Any other economic factor that would influence a person’s ability to support themselves

Once awarded, alimony payments can take the form of regular installments, usually monthly, or a single lump-sum payment. In many cases, alimony payments have a set end date, but the judge doesn’t have to set an end date if they don’t feel it’s appropriate.

How Long Do Alimony Payments Last?

Alimony that is decided by a judge ends when either spouse dies, when the date set in the alimony order passes, or if the dependent spouse remarries or moves in with a new partner. The court can also change the amount of alimony or stop it completely if either spouse experiences a change in life circumstances and files a motion for modification of alimony.

How long alimony lasts often depends on the length of the marriage. For example, let’s say a couple was married for 20 years and had three children. One spouse gave up their career at the start of the marriage to provide childcare and daily household duties, and that spouse never resumed their career. They were substantially dependent on the supporting spouse.

In that case, the dependent spouse who made the sacrifice gave up a huge amount of potential earnings and career advancement for the good of the family. It will take a long time to compensate that spouse for those sacrifices, so alimony payments in a case like this could go on for many years or might even last indefinitely.

Additional Factors

Under North Carolina law, the amount of alimony is up to the discretion of the judge. While the factors listed above are to be considered, unlike child support in North Carolina, there are no guidelines in North Carolina law that set the amount of alimony or the length of alimony. This can make it difficult to determine outcomes in these types of cases.

If the dependent spouse engaged in “illicit sexual behavior,” such as infidelity, they may not receive any alimony. Conversely, the law requires alimony if the supporting spouse was the one to commit adultery.

This post has mainly focused on postseparation support and alimony that is awarded by a judge. However, many couples resolve the issues stemming from their separation in a separation agreement. The separation agreement can include provisions for spousal support, including the amount, duration, and factors for changing the amount.

In general, since each relationship and each divorce is unique, and the court has a lot of discretion based on these unique circumstances, it is difficult to make estimates regarding alimony amount. If you’re facing a divorce and need to make a claim for alimony or defend yourself against an unreasonable alimony claim, it’s in your best interest to speak with an experienced lawyer who can give you personalized advice.

Have Questions About Alimony in Your North Carolina Divorce? Call Myers Law Firm Today

If you have questions about alimony, including using a separation agreement to protect your way of life prior to the divorce, reach out to our experienced divorce lawyers at Myers Law Firm. We’ll meet with you to learn about your situation and offer straightforward advice about what to do next.

While we excel at respectful negotiation and will work to find common ground with the other side, we are ready to stand up in court and fight for your rights with an aggressive approach if that’s what it takes. Whether you are the spouse requesting alimony or a spouse who expects to pay alimony, we’ll help defend you from unfair treatment.

To schedule your consultation, please call 888-376-2889 or complete our brief online contact form today.

The content provided here is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject.

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