The Chief Justice of the North Carolina Court system has essentially postponed most normal court activity until June 1, 2020. Although the courthouse is technically open and court documents can still be filed as normal most deadlines and court dates for most cases have been continued. The main exception to this rule is Domestic Violence cases and certain ex-parte emergency child custody actions. Nobody knows for certain when the Covid-19 crisis will subside in NC or the country, but with a current lock down order in place for NC there is a strong likelihood that normal court business may not resume for months as effective social distancing inside the courthouse would be difficult to impossible.

The main points of the order issued April 2, 2020 are as follows:

​Children are not able to simply choose which parent they want to live with under North Carolina law. That being said, a child’s wishes can be taken into consideration by a judge during a custody trial. How much weight their preference is given by the judge is totally up to the judge. Factors considered by a judge in evaluating the wishes of a child are the age and maturity of the child along with the rationale for their opinion.

​Imagine a child who wants to live with mom or dad because that parent lets them do whatever they want such as play video-games all day or stay out with friends all night. Children often make bad decisions that are not in their best interest. North Carolina law directs our judges to award custody based on the “best interest” standard and this may or may not align with what a child wants or needs.

Under North Carolina law there is no presumption for either the mother or father in a custody dispute. Although some states have a presumption for joint child custody there is no such rule in NC. The actual legal standard in NCGS 50-13.2 is to award custody based on the “best interest” of the child. In 2015, many thought there was a new custody law in NC when NCGS 50-13.01 was created stating the policy of NC was to encourage equitable participation of both parents in raising their children. 

​New alimony agreements and Court orders created starting in 2019 will no longer treat spousal support as a taxable event. This is a dramatic change from what has been the law since 1942, which has allowed anyone paying alimony to deduct the full amount paid from their taxable income. Under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed by President Donald Trump alimony will essentially be treated just like child support- it will be a non-taxable event for both the payor and recipient. 

​The presumption in North Carolina is that all assets accumulated during marriage are part of the marital estate. There is no such presumption when it comes to martial debts. That being said, debts incurred during the marriage for the joint benefit of the parties are considered to be marital debts. This can certainly include credit cards only in the name of one spouse if those debts were accumulated for the benefit of the marriage.