Alimony in North Carolina: What you need to know

In North Carolina, Alimony is a financial award to be paid from the supporting spouse to the dependent spouse. The terms “Post Separation Support” and “Alimony” are often used interchangeably since they both refer to financial support paid by one spouse to the other, but Post Separation Support is often described as “temporary alimony” whereas “Alimony” is intended to be a more permanent or longer-lasting award. To determine if Alimony is applicable to your case, there is a three-prong analysis you must apply. The three-prong analysis is as follows:

1.      Is there a dependent/supporting spouse relationship?

2.      Does the supporting spouse have a surplus each month such that the supporting spouse can afford to pay an Alimony obligation? Does the dependent spouse have a monthly deficit each month such that the dependent spouse has an actual need for support?

3.      Once the questions above are answered, then the question is how much will the Alimony obligation be and for how long will it be paid?

Step One – Is there a dependent/supporting spouse relationship?

A dependent spouse is one that is financially reliant upon the other spouse to pay his/her bills each month. A supporting spouse is one that has the ability to provide financial support each month for the benefit of his/her spouse. The most obvious example of this is when one spouse is a stay-at-home spouse while the other spouse is the income earner. The stay-at-home spouse is completely reliant upon the income earning spouse. If you are in a dependent/supporting spouse relationship, then you move to “Step Two” of the Alimony analysis below. If you are not in a dependent/supporting spouse relationship, then Alimony does not apply to your case.

Step Two – Is there a monthly need and is there an ability to pay?

Presuming there is a dependent/supporting spouse relationship, the next question to ask is does the supporting spouse have the ability to pay (meaning a monthly surplus) and does the dependent spouse have a need (meaning a monthly deficit)? If the answer to either of these questions is “no”, then the analysis fails and the issue of Alimony does not apply to your case. However, if the answer is yes, then Alimony would likely be an issue in your case. If the answer is “yes”, there is a monthly surplus and a monthly deficit, then you move to “Step Three” of the Alimony analysis below.

Step Three – How much and for how long?

Presuming there is a dependent/supporting spouse relationship and presuming there is a monthly surplus/deficit, the next and final question to ask is how much will the alimony obligation be and for how long? When most people think of Alimony, they think of a recurring monthly payment from one spouse to another, but Alimony can also take the form of other things, such as a one-time lump sum payment, or even a combination of the two with a lump sum payment and a recurring monthly obligation. When the Court is determining “how much” one spouse should receive each month and “how long” he/she should receive an Alimony award, the Court is considering several factors, including but not limited to the following:

·         What was the accustomed standard of living during the marriage?

·         What amount of surplus does the supporting spouse have each month?

·         What is the dependent spouse’s deficit each month?

·         What is the income and earning capacity of the parties? Is there concern either party is attempting to, or intentionally suppressing his/her income to manipulate the Alimony award?

·         What was the length of marriage?

·         What is the age and health of the parties?

·         Was there marital misconduct? This is an important factor in North Carolina.

If either party committed marital misconduct, that misconduct will likely affect the Alimony award, whether that be in amount, duration or both.

It is important to note that Alimony is generally modifiable and is subject to terminating factors pursuant to the North Carolina General Statutes.

If you are considering divorce or you are currently separated and have questions about what you might be entitled to or what your exposure is financially, our experienced attorneys at Carter & Noland, PLLC, are here to assist you and answer any questions you may have.