Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog

On Friday, Vanessa Bryant, wife of the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, filed for divorce from the NBA star in Orange County, California. Citing irreconcilable differences, the filing comes 10 years after they married.

It's also eight years after Bryant was accused and charged with the rape of a 19-year-old hotel worker. Bryant, who admitted to having sex with the girl, denied assaulting her and never faced trial because the girl refused to testify. Following the accusation, Vanessa famously stayed by Bryant's side and was reportedly gifted with an 8-carat, $4 million diamond ring for supporting him.

Continue reading "NBA Star Facing Divorce Proceedings" »

Last month, Marie Claire published a story on "manimony" -- what it terms the divorce payouts many of Hollywood's highest-paid female stars end up paying in support and lump-sum payments to their exes when they divorce.

A few of the highlights: Sandra Bullock quickly filed for divorce from Jesse James last year, and he refused spousal support, which he wasn't entitled to in Texas, where they divorced; when Madonna and director Guy Ritchie separated in 2008, she gave him almost one-fifth of her estimated net worth of $500 million for a divorce; comedian Roseanne Barr ignored the advice of her attorney in 1990 when she decided against a pre-nup with Tom Arnold, leading her to shelling out a reported $50 million after their 1994 divorce.

Continue reading "Magazine Looks at Cost of Divorce for Hollywood's Women" »

A Swedish study just released suggests a person's commute time increases the chances the person will separate or divorce by 40%. The results indicate a long commute is tougher on women and than men and is usually highest during the first few years of a commute.

New Yorkers seemed to have escaped the phenomenon, which is relatively new to Swedes: New Yorkers have the longest average commute in the US, but they also have one of the lowest divorce rates, suggesting other factors affect the deterioration of a marriage.

Continue reading "Long Commutes Lead to Divorce?" »

In a decision that overturned a lower court's ruling, Massachusetts' Court of Appeals ruled earlier this week that a retired Air Force officer's pension should be treated as a marital asset, rather than as income in cases of divorce. In his ruling, the judge ruled that retired USAF Lt. Col. Michael S. Casey's after-tax pension of $867 per week should be treated as income in his divorce from his wife of 17 years, Deanne E. Casey.

In their decision, the Appeals Court noted that the US Supreme Court leaves states to decide whether to treat pensions as income or a marital asset. The justices Ms. Casey, a nurse, sacrificed her career for her then-husband, who spent much of his career as a NATO staffer in Europe.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Appeals Court Says Military Pension is Marital" »

Hollywood star and former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his TV journalist wife, Maria Shriver, announced their separation on Monday after 25 years of marriage and 34 years together. According to rumors, their problems began in 2003 when Schwarzenegger decided to run for governor. Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family, gave up her successful job with NBC when he ran and stood by him amidst allegations of extramarital affairs.

It seems Shriver has been giving clues to the impending separation: in December, she told an interviewer that she didn't know Schwarzenegger would run for California's highest position until after he announced it on The Tonight Show; she also said, "I have no idea what 2011 will bring for me. But I will definitely be in a different place next year than I am today." Furthermore, she made a YouTube video in March asking for advice dealing with life's "transitions" and failed to wear her wedding ring. The couple have four kids who are said to support their mother's decision to leave their father.

Continue reading "Schwarzenegger to Terminate Marriage" »

On Monday, a Superior Court judge in Wake County, North Carolina has handed down a $30 million judgment to the ex-wife of a trucking company owner in her alienation of affections lawsuit against his current wife. In an unprecedented move, Judge Carl Fox awarded $10 million in compensatory and $20 million in punitive damages against Betty Devin, who married Raleigh-based company owner Donald Puryear following his divorce from Carol Puryear, the victor in this case.

The award, which is the largest of its kind in North Carolina history, was part of a default judgment - Devin neither appeared in court nor was she represented by an attorney.

Continue reading "Big Award in North Carolina Alienation of Affections Suit" »

As is the case with most Charlotte Divorce Attorneys, the majority of our clients meet with us prior to the date of his or her Separation. Even though most clients are more concerned with the contents that will be included within a Separation Agreement, there are some interesting procedural requirements that must be met in order to effectuate a valid Separation Agreement.

Even though a Separation Agreement also known as a Property Settlement Agreement is essentially a contract between two parties, North Carolina has additional statutory requirements that must be met to properly construct a Separation Agreement. Under North Carolina General Statute § 52-10.1, a Separation Agreement must be (i) in writing and (ii) acknowledged by both parties, before a certifying officer.

Continue reading "What Makes a Separation Agreement Valid in North Carolina?" »

In Massachusetts, there's a law that guarantees alimony for life, but if some activists and legislators have their way, the law may change. After stories of debt caused by alimony appeared on a website, Boston-area media outlets sought to verify them. Once they had, the movement began to rewrite the law.

For many paying alimony, it can't come at a time too soon - alimony continues beyond retirement until death. Many are fed up with having more than half of their social security checks garnished for alimony. Others, who aren't retired yet, don't think it's right to pay alimony for a period longer than the marriage lasted. One of those people, the movement's founder, was denied a reduction in alimony payments because the judge accused the self-employed man of lying about his financial standing. Because of the mounting debt caused by years of making the alimony payments after his business closed, he was forced to declare bankruptcy.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Considers Alimony Overhaul" »

On Friday, a Texas court officially ended the marriage between Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria and San Antonia Spurs star Tony Parker. The two, who married in 2007, separated last November amid rumors of Parker's infidelity.

In her November filing, Longoria, 35, sought post separation support from Parker, 28. The couple signed a prenuptial agreement a few weeks before they married, which they updated two years later.

Continue reading "Eva Longoria and Tony Parker Divorce" »

When Steven Simkin and Laura Blank divorced in 2006 in New York, she received $6.2 million as part of their divorce settlement. But the settlement was made on the reliance that Mr. Simkin's investment account was worth $5.4 million. The couple based the figure on filings made by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi-scheme.

Turns out, there wasn't an account to be divvied, and $2.7 million of the $6.2 million award didn't exist. Simkin wants his ex-wife to refund that money to him. In court filings, Simkin argued that the two made a "mutual mistake" when they divided their estate. A state appeals court, in a 3-2 decision, agreed with Simkin.

Continue reading "Madoff Investor Seeks to Recoup Money from Divorce Settlement" »

With tax season just around the corner, people required to pay alimony or child support, as well as those receiving, may not be aware of the tax consequences of such payments. Providing the Order's language complies with Internal Revenue Code Sections 71 & 215, a payor may be able to deduct the alimony payments on his taxes. The payee would be required to declare the payments as income (and pay taxes on the income).

If you plan on deducting alimony payments made (line 31 on your 1040), IRC 71 requires eight factors must be met:

Continue reading "Paying or Receiving Alimony or Child Support? Know the Tax Laws?" »

When actor Michael Douglas and his first wife, Diandra, signed a separation agreement in the 1990s, they agreed that Diandra would earn 50% of all of his continued earnings for the 1987 hit, Wall Street, and all of his other films made prior to their separation in 1995.

Already, Ms. Douglas has earned $6 million from Mr. Douglas' post-separation movie earnings. But with the release of a sequel to Wall Street, Ms. Douglas argues she is entitled to 50% of his earnings for that film. Attorneys for Ms. Douglas argue the separation agreement covered the Wall Street "franchise", and she should be entitled to anything he earns from that film as well.

Continue reading "Actor and Ex-Wife Argue Over Earnings from Current Film" »

According to a recent survey of married couples, as many as 80% say they spend money on things they fail to tell their spouses about. The study, commissioned by a North Carolina-based debt management firm CESI Debt Solutions, claims that nearly 20% of married couples have a secret credit card or bank account.

So why do spouses refrain from telling their partners about how they're spending money? More than one-third of respondents indicated that they fear the truth would cause fighting or worse - a divorce. While some couples blame the potential fallout from revealing their secrets, some didn't see the necessity - 46% of respondents maintained they were paying off debt, so the didn't see a need to tell their spouses.

Continue reading "New Study Says Married Couples Financially Dishonest" »

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has called a man's faith "irrelevant" to his duty to pay child support. After Alexander County ordered John Lee Shippen to pay his ex-wife, Shirley Ritchie Shippen, $1,106 per month for child custody, support and alimony, he quit his job as a corrections officer and joined a religious commune. When he failed to make payments, the court found him in contempt.

Shortly after he was ordered to make the monthly payments, he quit his job and joined a religious group called the Twelve Tribes of Israel, which provides communal living and bars its members from earning outside income. Arguing that he was following his beliefs and could not pay $6,290 to purge the contempt order, he appealed.

Continue reading "North Carolina Court Calls Faith 'Irrelevant' to Child Support" »

With the recent spate of high-profile divorces, a new matter that can affect property interests is "celebrity good will." This divisible property interest of the marriage or factor can be considered in awarding alimony and child support.

What's 'Celebrity Good Will'?
Essentially, celebrity good will is a celebrity's enhanced earning capacity or the human capital of a spouse who is famous. The greater the good will, the more likely the celebrity will have future earning capacity that the Courts will consider when making awards. When high-profile persons endure a lengthy or particularly ugly legal battle, their so-called good will decreases.

Continue reading "Notion of 'Celebrity Good Will' to Become Divisible Property Interest?" »