ED claim

  1. You do not have to have a lawyer to file an Equitable Distribution claim. However, if you choose to represent yourself you will be held to the same standard that an attorney was, meaning that if you fail to properly preserve your claims, the court will not grant you leeway because you did not have an attorney.

  2. If you file a new action for Equitable Distrubtion, it will need to be served on him the same way you filed the divorce.

  3. If you have agreed to everything, you may simply need a separation agreement to be drafted and executed. If that is signed before your divorce judgment is entered, you do not need to file an action for equitable distribution.

  4. You must exert your right, if you don’t you will lose it. It is unlikley he would follow through with anything you want him to do, he certainly has not done so at this point.

Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm

4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.787.6361 main fax

Charlotte Office
301 McCullough Drive
Suite 510
Charlotte, NC 28262
Main Phone: (704)307.4600
Main Fax: (704) 9343.0044

Durham & Chapel Hill Office
1829 East Franklin Street
Building 600
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 321.0780

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 only, a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action. The information posted on this forum is available for public viewing and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship with any individual. These answers are provided for informational purposes only, a person should consult with their own individual legal counsel before taking any action that could affect their legal rights or obligations.

Thanks for answering these questions. What if he doesn’t exert a claim for ED, what happens then if the divorce is granted? Basically what I have in my possession is mine and what he has in his possession is his, including the house? I know I would still face the problem with the quit claim deed.
Thanks in advance.

Marissa Gott

If no one asserts an ED claim and the divorce is granted they are forever barred from addressing that issue with the court. That means that if you had any jointly titled property, you would not be able to ask the court to use equitable distribution laws to divide the house or to transfer the title.

Helena M. Nevicosi
Attorney with Rosen Law Firm

4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.787.6361 main fax

Charlotte Office
301 McCullough Drive
Suite 510
Charlotte, NC 28262
Main Phone: (704)307.4600
Main Fax: (704) 9343.0044

Durham & Chapel Hill Office
1829 East Franklin Street
Building 600
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 321.0780

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 only, a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action. The information posted on this forum is available for public viewing and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship with any individual. These answers are provided for informational purposes only, a person should consult with their own individual legal counsel before taking any action that could affect their legal rights or obligations.

Has anyone out there filed one of these on their own? I am currently considering using an attorney to draft an unequal distribution claim for me to the tune of $500! That’s just to draft it, not represent me. I am doing the divorce on my own, as it is a simple uncontested divorce, no children, no joint accounts or vehicles etc… STBX has been living in California for the last 8 months and has said repeatedly that he will sign over house,no problem, once he gets his stuff etc…but has been very elusive as to when he will retrieve his stuff and expects me to ship it across the country at my expense which I won’t do, he basically abandoned his property.

I want/need to proceed with the divorce and have received the green card back on that, but he is not returning any phone calls etc. and he can’t be trusted to follow through with anything, so in order to protect myself, I will assert a claim for ED, which is really something I was hoping to have to avoid, but since the loan on house is in my name, and his name on the deed, this seems necessary at this point to move this along etc.

A few quick questions:

  1. Must you have a lawyer for this process?
  2. Does this action need to be served on him in the same manner as the divorce papers? (IE:registered mail, sherriff, publication) or can it just be sent via regular or certified mail? The attorney has told me it has to be done the same way which I have never heard of and I want to verify this is correct.
  3. We have agreed upon the items he wants(mostly his own separate property) and he doesn’t want the house or any of the other furniture in the house etc… and I have a list of his inventory from him that will eventually be entered in. There is basically nothing to have to mediate here, just the sticking point about signing over the house. Do we still have to go all the way through this process with the inventory list? Seems a bit ridiculous.
    4.I am a little nervous about if I don’t go ahead and exert my right because he can’t be trusted and I don’t want to end up having to chase him all over the place over this house issue etc…

Thanks in advance for any assistance or guidance

Marissa Gott