Author: Carolyn J. Woodruff

Dear Carolyn: My son is getting married in the summer, and my daughter is getting married in the fall. While all the parties, dresses and events are so very exciting, I am worried about the inheritances they received from my...

Dear Carolyn, I have to accept the fact that the father of my children is an alcoholic. I worry, I fret, but I cannot change him. He will not get help, but please know he hides his drinking well. The custody case is on the court...

Dear Carolyn, Why did people drink so much alcohol on Dec. 31? My husband used the New Year as an opportunity to binge. I have become increasingly concerned about his drinking, which is becoming rather intolerable. He has...

Dear Carolyn: As the holiday season approaches, one of my friends wants me to officiate at their wedding. The friend says this is done all the time. What do you think? Can I be the person to give the vows at my friend’s...

Dear Carolyn, Two years ago, I bought a business with two other partners. The business rocks along as it should, even with COVID. Now I think I am going to be going through a divorce. How will my one-third interest in the...

Dear Carolyn: My marriage is unraveling. My husband and I have three beautiful children. He is successful. We have a beautiful home. We had it all. I discovered he had two children born to this “woman ” after we...

Dear Carolyn I just moved to North Carolina, and I heard that North Carolina has alienation of affection – stealing someone’s spouse. I am 40, and recently single. I have a good job. I asked a lady I met at a bar to go out with...

Dear Carolyn: How do I get the judge to dismiss my ex parte order because my husband will complete a cognitive behavioral therapy class on Sept 12 and I am ready for him to come home? We can’t work on any of our other...

Dear Carolyn: With school about to start, there are “puddles” of anxiety all around me.  Did I mention I am going through a divorce and a custody battle? My estranged and I live in two different school districts and we cannot...

Dear Carolyn: My settlement agreement with my ex-wife has me keeping our jointly owned, fully paid home.  A couple of years ago, I told her I believed she needed to file a quitclaim document to have her name removed from the...

Dear Carolyn: My ex wants alimony, but she had a relationship with a guy when we separated. She says I cannot prove she is doing anything, as she is cagey. There were hundreds of phone calls before separation. I know they are...

Dear Carolyn: My concern is my granddaughter. I always thought her mother was a little weird, but when my son divorced her, the weirdness increased. My granddaughter is only 5. My son and the mother share custody, but the mother...

Dear Carolyn: How can I obtain my ex’s tax returns? He claimed our son when my son lived with me. This happened after our child custody case. This was not the first time. We were not together for eight years, and I found...

Dear Carolyn: Is it legal in North Carolina for a stepfather to hit a child when he’s been in their life for less than two years?   Carolyn Answers: Hit is a powerful word. Hit denotes force and speed. A missile hit...

Dear Carolyn: I was accused of domestic violence, and nothing was found. I was boxed in by a public pretender to sign a consent form. The form states that there was no evidence, but there were accusations. They still have not...

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...

Dear Carolyn, I am getting ready to separate. In looking through some records, I see my soon-to-be-ex bought an NFT. I also overheard him mention this to a friend. It was from Sotheby’s, so this may involve a lot of money....

Dear Carolyn, My holiday is not so happy with my equitable distribution trial on the horizon. There are $125,000 student loans. My ex and I were married around 25 years, so these student loans are our son’s education at a...

Dear Carolyn, Can wife No. 1 be rewarded over $300,000 lump sum in a nasty divorce of a less than two-year childless marriage (paid by parents) and wife No. 2 of nearly 20 years, children and loving family be physically and...

Dear Carolyn: My son is in his early 30s and he suffers from depression, and it gets so bad he wants to commit suicide. He lives with his girlfriend, and he smokes marijuana, which makes things worse. He and I need help....

Dear Carolyn, I hope we are finally getting a handle on the pandemic, but I have developed high blood pressure during the pandemic. My whole family is tense, and there are more angry outbursts than pre-pandemic. I want the old...

Dear Carolyn, Hi, I live in Louisiana. I feel that I have been overcharged for years for child support because I am the noncustodial parent. The custodial parent only shows up to court in North Carolina and states she...

Dear Carolyn, My husband has abused me our entire 40-year marriage. I have been a stay home mother but the children are all now grown and self-sufficient. On my many trips to the emergency room I have lied about the causes of...

Dear Carolyn, Stress! I cannot believe the blossoming stress from the pandemic. I got my vaccine, but I am still afraid of Delta. When this all started, I did not think it would last so long – much less the two years that it...

Dear Carolyn, I have three children, and I am a single parent. I just moved. I heard somewhere that there was more stimulus money available related to how many children I have. My ex is also behind on child support. Can anything...

Dear Carolyn, I pay child support and I am happy to pay a fair amount of child support for my two children, who reside primarily with their mother. I am an executive who makes bonuses from time to time, but the company does not...

Dear Carolyn,   My husband and I just returned from the Bahamas and I think we are going to be separating. While we were in the Bahamas, my husband took an interest in the Bahamian Sand Dollar. I was not sure what the appeal is...

Dear Carolyn, I am having trouble dealing with the “change” of divorce. Everything is so different. I feel sad. I’ve gained weight. With COVID-19, even my social structure has changed or evaporated. I really don’t want to pay a...

Dear Carolyn,   I own a small business, and I think my wife is planning on leaving me. All the signs are there. She stays out late, bought a new wardrobe and goes to the gym. So she leaves. How will my business be divided? I...

Dear Carolyn, My husband and I have been happily married for a decade. We had a thriving business together before COVID-19, but COVID decimated our industry. We have a daughter, age 7, in second grade. About the time COVID...

Dear Carolyn, I have a court date coming up. I am fearful about being questioned by the other attorney, who seems like a bully to me. The case is about the custody of my child. How do I handle the bully lawyer when he asks me...

Dear Carolyn, Can COVID-19 please be over, please? I feel claustrophobic, depressed, and I am drinking more alcohol than I should. My husband and I are fighting. I am yelling at the kids. Help!   Carolyn Answers, Please...

Dear Carolyn, I am concerned about my sister, as her boyfriend is choking her.  They get in a fight, and he grabs her neck. The problem is there usually aren’t any bruises. What is the risk of this? What should she do?  ...

Dear Carolyn, If my DVPO was filed in Wake County and it has expired, but I currently live in Guilford County, can I file my motion to return in Guilford County, or do I have to file in Wake County where the order originated?...

Dear Carolyn, My wife, Sally, and I separated in 2019 and divorced in 2020.  We filed taxes as married in 2019, with the refund direct deposited to Sally.  The first two stimulus checks were also direct deposited to her for both...

Dear Carolyn, I have two early teen children and left my ex over a year ago due to emotional abuse of myself and our son, and less so our daughter. During the course of about six months he refused to let the kids indoors during...

Dear Carolyn,I have a custody dispute going on with the mother of my child and it never seems to end. I think the mother is mentally ill. She just doesn’t get the parenting thing. The therapist has suggested we get a child...

My child support that I pay was determined by some method called “off the guidelines” a few years back. I own my own small business, but COVID-19 has reduced my profits. I need a lower child support number. From surfing the internet, I find Child Support Worksheet B, which seems to fit my situation since I have 50 percent of the time with my child. What does “off the guidelines” mean? Can I get a reduction in my child support?

Dear Carolyn, I am in a business hit hard by COVID-19. I have asked that the court reconsider my child support. I have not been able to pay myself my usual salary of $200,000, but I did get some PPP-1 money. How do you think the...

Dear Carolyn, So back in September, I was at my sister’s cul-de-sac bonfire with my dog. Well, a new kid to the cul-de-sac was petting my dog, and before I knew it, she hugged my dog around the neck and covered his face with her...

Dear Carolyn, The holidays bring a “mixed bag” of feelings about family. My mother is under the care of hospice for end of life care. She is aged 94, and her assisted living home has not had COVID-19. She lives in another state....

Dear Carolyn, I have heard at least two relatives say since Thanksgiving, “I might as well kill myself.” One is an adult male in the restaurant business who has had a hard time in the pandemic. The other is a teen that has...

My husband does international business. He is very secretive about his activities. I heard him talking about a “private key” he has. I overheard him talking about a cold wallet. We are not getting along, and I am afraid he is hiding assets. I’d like to be on top of finding assets. What is he talking about, and how do I find this cold wallet? What should I look for with this private key?

Dear Carolyn, I am a restaurant owner. I separated from my estranged wife June 30, 2019. In going through the separation and divorce process, my lawyer had a business valuation done for the restaurant for June 30, 2019, as the valuation…

I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago because I need an alimony reduction. COVID-19 has impaired my earnings. I have heard that I might get a hearing faster before a judge if the hearing is online, rather than in person. How does that work? Is the courthouse safe with COVID-19? Should I have an online hearing for my alimony reduction? I am still seeking that reduction in alimony.

Dear Carolyn, With COVID-19, my salary has been reduced. I need to get my alimony reduced. I am paying court-ordered alimony of $2,100 per month. I am worried about the tax deduction for alimony if I seek a modification. I heard...

I am a school teacher of small children. The other teachers and I are sharing stories of abuse the children are suffering at home during COVID-19. I just wanted to make you and your readers aware of the violence problem COVID is creating for the most vulnerable among us. What are your thoughts?

My computer is a mess. And I feel like I am being watched through my laptop. I am involved in a divorce. The family used my computer before my husband moved out. Now I have the laptop, and I am using the computer to communicate with my attorney. My attorney has my email address and sends legal documents through the computer. Is my ex-husband able to see these legal documents? Can I be stalked through my laptop?

My divorce is haunting me. I mean, I feel like the house is haunted. Rationally, I do not believe in ghosts, but the spirit of my ex seems to be everywhere I turn in the home where we used to live together. We lived here for 10 years. We built this home together. I took the house in our equitable distribution settlement, thinking it would be the right lifestyle decision, but it has not happened that way. I met a new male friend, and he is not excited about the concept of us living in my “ex’s old house.”

I have been with my significant other since 2007, and he has a daughter that I have thought of as my own. She was 13 when we met, and her mother basically threw her out at the age of 12. She is 26 today, and I still consider myself as her mother due to when she needed advice, money, support or anything she always called on me.