North Carolina Alimony / Spousal Support

North Carolina alimony, also referred to as spousal support is the amount of money one spouse pays to the other, by court order or through agreement of the parties, for support and maintenance.

The amount and duration of alimony in North Carolina is based on all relevant factors including "marital misconduct. When there is a claim for alimony, either spouse may request a jury trial to decide on the issue of marital misconduct. If a jury trial is requested, the jury will decide whether either spouse or both have established marital misconduct.

What Constitutes Marital Misconduct for Alimony Awarded in North Carolina

• Illicit sexual behavior. For the purpose of this section, illicit sexual behavior means acts of sexual or deviate sexual intercourse, deviate sexual acts, or sexual acts defined in G.S. 14-27.1(4), voluntarily engaged in by a spouse with someone other than the other spouse
• Involuntary separation of the spouses in consequence of a criminal act committed prior to the proceeding in which alimony is sought
• Abandonment of the other spouse
• Malicious turning out-of-doors of the other spouse
• Cruel or barbarous treatment endangering the life of the other spouse
• Indignities rendering the condition of the other spouse intolerable and life burdensome
• Reckless spending of the income of either party, or the destruction, waste, diversion, or concealment of assets
• Excessive use of alcohol or drugs so as to render the condition of the other spouse intolerable and life burdensome
• Willful failure to provide necessary subsistence according to one's means and condition so as to render the condition of the other spouse intolerable and life burdensome

According to North Carolina Statute § 50-16.1A, support and maintenance of a spouse or former spouse can be periodic or a lump sum. It can be for a specified or for an indefinite term.

The court shall exercise its discretion in determining the amount, duration, and manner of payment of alimony. The duration of the award may be for a specified or for an indefinite term.

• 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 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

Modification of Alimony in North Carolina

In North Carolina alimony can be modified by filing a motion in the cause. Modification is based upon showing a significant change in circumstances.

Termination of North Carolina Spousal Support

According to North Carolina statute § 50 16.9. Modification of order. (b.) Any motion to modify or terminate alimony or postseparation support based on a resumption of marital relations between parties who remain married to each other shall be determined pursuant to G.S. 52 10.2. If a dependent spouse who is receiving postseparation support or alimony from a supporting spouse under a judgment or order of a court of this State remarries or engages in cohabitation, the postseparation support or alimony shall terminate. Postseparation support or alimony shall terminate upon the death of either the supporting or the dependent spouse.
As used in this subsection, cohabitation means the act of two adults dwelling together continuously and habitually in a private heterosexual relationship, even if this relationship is not solemnized by marriage, or a private homosexual relationship. Cohabitation is evidenced by the voluntary mutual assumption of those marital rights, duties, and obligations which are usually manifested by married people, and which include, but are not necessarily dependent on, sexual relations

North Carolina statutes regarding alimony can be found here: North Carolina statutes

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