Entries by FamilyLaw

September 2020 Cases: Rule 60, Interlocutory, and Contempt

By Ketan P. Soni  Rule 60 Case | Interlocutory Case | Contempt Case Jackson V. Jackson (now Clelland): Rule 60 v. Appeal Sampson County – 2020 Tldr: Don’t use Rule 60 to correct erroneous orders. Appeal instead; otherwise, you’ll lose. Mom and Dad had a custody trial. The trial court ordered that: Plaintiff shall reimburse […]

September 2020 Cases: UCCJEA, Attorney’s Fees Reversal

By Rebecca K. Watts Halili v. Ramnishta, Court of Appeals, September 1, 2020 (UCCJEA, inconvenient forum) Mother, Father, and minor child lived in New York, but visited North Carolina in late June 2017 in anticipation of moving here – they were here for 11 days. They then returned to New York where they stayed until […]

Valuing a Business During a Recession: Using Projected Business Income Without Valuing Postmarital Efforts

By Russel B. Duckworth During an economic recession, the best tool for valuing a business is a discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis. A DCF analysis is the only valuation method that allows a financial expert to develop customized financial projections for the business that account for both the economic downturn and the eventual recovery. This […]

Case Law Update: ED and Classification of Life Insurance Proceeds

By Rebecca K. Watts Richter v. Richter, decided COA June 2, 2020 (equitable distribution, classification of life insurance proceeds) During the time Husband and Wife were married to each other, Husband’s ex-wife died. Husband was beneficiary of a life insurance policy that ex-wife had maintained. During the marriage of Husband and Wife, some of the […]

Case Law Update: DVPO and Personal Jurisdiction

By Rebecca K. Watts  Mucha v. Wagner, decided COA June 2, 2020 (DVPO, personal jurisdiction) Plaintiff and Defendant had been in a romantic relationship until Plaintiff ended it and asked Defendant not to contact her again. At the time their relationship ended, Plaintiff was a college student in South Carolina and Defendant lived in Connecticut.  […]

Case Law Update: Supreme Court on Custody and Denial of Visitation

By Rebecca K. Watts Routten v. Routten, N.C. Supreme Court, decided June 5, 2020 (custody, denial of visitation) After finding that visitation with Mother would not be in the children’s best interest, the trial court awarded sole physical custody to Father, denied visitation to Mother, and allowed Father to “permit custodial time between the children […]

Spotlight: Incoming Chair Mitchell Kelling

By Ryan Schultz On July 1, 2020, Mitchell Kelling will continue her commitment to the North Carolina Bar Association as the incoming chair of the Family Law Section. Mitchell is currently the principal and practice group leader of the Family Law Practice Group (South) of Offit/Kurman. She boasts a remarkably accomplished resume beginning with her […]

From The Family Law Chair – Lee Scholarship

By Afi Johnson-Parris  When I began practicing family law as a solo practitioner, short on cash and shorter on clients, I polled several colleagues for advice on which reference materials were essential. I had no budget for extras. Nearly everyone I spoke to said, “You’ve got to have Lee’s Family Law.” For many years, Lee’s […]

Family Financial Mediation Program Rule Amendments

By Ketan Soni The Supreme Court has approved Family Financial Mediation program rule amendments which require that next year, all District Court Family Financial Settlement mediators, whether selected by the parties or appointed by the court, must be trained, certified mediators.       If you have: been mediating family cases, have not completed the 40-hour […]