Affair

If the supporting spouse has an affair, the dependent spouse is entitled to alimony. Having an affair does not effect the visitation priviledges or the distribution of property which is generally 1/2. A distribution of property also includes retirement. (The key to distribution of property is that this only relates to property acquired during the marraige.) If you remain out of court, everything is negotiatble. The wife may still be allowed to remain in the home, it is difficult to say without looking at all factors.

quote:
Originally posted by Devil1
In NC if one spouse(husband) who has contributed the majority of finances to the portfolio has an affair, what are the rights of both spouses. If a divorce happens what rights do the husband who has had the affair have concerning financial and child visitation. Will it still be 50/50 or is it negotiated. There is considerable equity in the house and the wife might want to stay in house. Children are involved. Also retirement plans where couple has contributed more to the wifes and not husbands so more could be contributed to non retirement plans.

Adrian Davis
Attorney
The Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 200
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.256.1550 direct voice
919.256.1551 direct fax
919.787.6668 main voice
919.787.6361 main fax
NCdivorce.com
email: adavis@rosen.com

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

How is alimony handled if supporting is a salaried plus commission salesperson.

Also, how about dependent spouse retirement. Is that split up also 50/50 and what if the dependent spouse wants to try and take it all due to the affair.

What if dependent spouse wants to stay in home. Can supporting spouse then get more of investment portfolio when there is alot of equity in home.

One other thing. Supporting spouse is salaried plus commission who makes approximately 10k per month, salary and commission. Dependent spouse makes approximately 4500/month. Supporting spouse makes 5400/month in salary. Trying to get a feel for alimony and child support. If dependent wants to stay in home, how does that effect support and aliminony. Approximately 200k in equity in home. Investment portfolio of 125-140k + retirement plans. 100k for dependent and 65k for supporting.

Estimates on alimony and support are appreciated. Calculation says approximately 1000 in child support.

If a spouse is in a loveless marriage and has not not physical contact for over 6 mos, they sleep in a seperate bedrooms. The spouse that wants the seperation because other spouse has a gambling problem on top of many other incompatibly problems. What would be the grounds of the divorce. The leaving spouse has a child not of the marriage. The couple have lived together for 8 years but married 4 years. They have had custody of the (staying) other spouses 7 year old nephew for the full time of the relationship. What rights do the (leaving) non related spouse have in reguards to the child that they help nurtured and raise for 7 years?

Angelhair & Devil1,

I’ll try to answer all of your questions at once!

First, you will need to gather evidence of all income, including commisions and bonuses when making your case for alimony. Mainly, you need to show that you are a dependent spouse, and that the supporting spouse can afford to pay you alimony. It will be up to the judge to decide how much and for how long.

Retirement does not generally come into an alimony case, because that is considered property, and is part of the equitable distribution of the marital estate, not alimony. Fault is not considered in equitable distribution, so that cannot be your basis for trying to get all of the retirement. The only way you can get any unequal distribution of the property based on fault is if you can show that the other party depleted marital assets while committing the fault (he/she cleaned out their retirement account to spend on the paramour). So, you should expect a 50/50 division of the property, even though one spouse has had an affair.

If the dependent spouse was already a stay-at-home parent, or had not worked throughout most of the marriage, they might have a stronger argument for continuing to be unemployed. That would probably also depend on how long they haven’t worked, and how long the parties were married and that party was unemployed. Also, the reason for not working would be important. A lot of judges look at alimony as “rehabilitative.” That means, it’s supposed to help a dependent spouse get back on their feet. Judges do not often award lifetime alimony, although some have done it in extreme circumstances.

Given that the dependent spouse in Devil1’s facts already has a job, that person should expect to continue working for some time. Quitting the job will probably end up looking like a bad faith attempt to get more alimony, which won’t help that person.

The grounds for divorce in North Carolina are based on a 12 month separation. Fault is not a basis for divorce in North Carolina.

Custody of the non-biological child would involve the natural parents as well as both spouses. Both spouses have the right to sue for custody of the nephew, but the court would decide what would be in the child’s best interests.

I hope that helps!

Good luck to you both,

Shonnese D. Stanback
Attorney
The Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 200
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.256.1534 direct voice
919.256.1667 direct fax
919.787.6668 main voice
919.787.6361 main fax
NCdivorce.com
email: sstanback@rosen.com

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

Thank you for your quick response. With the figures supplied can you provide an estimate of alimony based on the 65k salary + commission and the 55k salary of the dependent spouse?

Thank you.

Dear Devil1:

I answered this exact question earlier today. Please see my answer to your other post. Best of luck!

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney at Law
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 200
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
NCDivorce.com
919-787-6668

The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.

In NC if one spouse(husband) who has contributed the majority of finances to the portfolio has an affair, what are the rights of both spouses. If a divorce happens what rights do the husband who has had the affair have concerning financial and child visitation. Will it still be 50/50 or is it negotiated. There is considerable equity in the house and the wife might want to stay in house. Children are involved. Also retirement plans where couple has contributed more to the wifes and not husbands so more could be contributed to non retirement plans.