Legal Separation

North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
1

Dear KAREGG1976:

Greetings. I am sorry to hear about your marriage. Yes, your spouse can refuse to pay for some bills, but your remedy then is to hire an attorney to negotiate a settlement with you. I would also remind you that alimony is not “punishment” between spouses, but a way to make sure that you can make ends meet. I would advise you to rethink your plan for alimony, since you may encounter an emergency that makes alimony necessary in the future. Best of luck.

Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
RosenDivorce.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.

2

Hi,

I have been married with my husband for about 6 years. I come from another country but I have been a legal resident for about 3 years.

I left him two weeks ago and went to live in an apartment. The problems that we had is that he is an alcoholic, although not abusive, and we had many other problems as well.

WE are going to counseling, but I don’t know if this will work out. My question I guess is the following:

  • If I were to get legal separated, I am not going to ask for alimony or anything like that. He earns 3 times more than what I do, but I think I can manage to control my expenses and live in a tight but decent way with what I earn. What I am afraid of is that he would want to divide all the debts we have(credit cards and mortgage and things that we have on both our names) and I won’t be able to pay them.

Would that be possible? What else can he do to harm me?