Dear Carolyn:
There has been a 50B against my son and me. The allegations are not true. How do l answer before the court date?
Carolyn Answers:
False 50Bs are a challenging situation. You need to go to the court date and contest the 50Bs. You probably can get one continuance to find a lawyer to help you. If you have evidence other than your testimony that the 50Bs are false, please take your evidence to the court. If any of your evidence is on your cell phone, be sure to lock the phone in a locker outside the courthouse. Then ask the judge for an order to allow you to take the phone into the courtroom. Texts, voicemails, recordings (if in North Carolina with you are a party) and social media posts all may be evidence. Keep your demeanor calm and relaxed in the courtroom. Stay away from this lying plaintiff.
I recommend that you get a lawyer to help you and your son.
Dear Carolyn:
Hello, I have a friend married for around 10 years to a deadbeat father who refuses to get a job. He hasn’t worked in over eight years (since their oldest was only a few months old). She never agreed for him to be a stay-at-home dad. The children went to daycare, but he was “taking care of the kids” in his eyes. Her children are school-aged, so in school every day, yet he still refuses to get a job. In her eyes, they have been separated for years. They have slept in separate rooms for many years now. She tells me she stayed because of the kids but now feels they should divorce. Would she have to pay him alimony? Also, she bought the home they lived in before their marriage and has been the only one contributing to the mortgage payments. Also, he is mentally abusive.
Carolyn Answers:
Humm, it is generally not good for your divorce case to stay married to a not working person when you are unhappy. The working person is just building a case against themselves for paying the lazy spouse alimony. The court will likely view ignoring a situation for eight years as a tacit agreement for him to stay home. Yes, there could be an alimony case here, but the mental abuse is a partial defense if this can be documented.
The house is likely going to be part marital and part separate. The separate part will be the part paid for before the marriage, provided the home title (deed) has only your friend’s name, who is the paying person. If both names are on the deed, then there may be a gift to the marriage of the home, and it may be marital property.
Alimony and equitable distribution are both too complex to handle without further advice from an attorney.
Send your questions on family law and divorce matters to “Ask Carolyn…” at askcarolyn@rhinotimes.com, or P.O. Box 9023, Greensboro, NC 27427. Please do not put identifying information in your questions. Note that the answers in “Ask Carolyn” are intended to provide general legal information, and the answers are not specific legal advice for your situation. The column also uses hypothetical questions. A subtle fact in your unique case may determine the legal advice you need in your individual case. Also, please note that you are not creating an attorney-client relationship with Carolyn J. Woodruff by writing or having your question answered by “Ask Carolyn…”
