Скачать или смотреть Absolute Divorce Information in North Carolina - Family Law

E. Parker Herring of Herring & Mills, a Raleigh Family Law firm, discusses absolute divorce in North Carolina.

TRANSCRIPT: Absolute divorce in North Carolina is basically a judgment saying that you’re no longer married. We’re a conservative state in many ways, but ironically, in absolute divorce, we’re not. We’re a no-fault, uncontested divorce state. What that means is you simply have to separate from your spouse. You can’t live under the same roof, duplex, you can’t live in separate bedrooms, but you separate from your spouse, and you live separate for a period of one year. And at the time you separated at least one of you has to intend for the separation to be permanent.

A lot of people ask, “What if my husband or wife refuses to sign the papers?” And there really isn’t anything that a husband or wife has to sign - they just have to be served with the complaint for divorce. You can serve them by certified mail, Federal Express, or by sheriff. So they don’t have to sign and say “I agree to the divorce.” They have the opportunity to answer, but if they don’t answer within the timeframe, which is 30 days, then you can obtain an absolute divorce just based on living separate and apart for one year in North Carolina.

Once you file for divorce in North Carolina, you have to serve on your spouse, and then they have 30 days to answer. As a matter of right, what most people do is get an extension of time so that it’s 60 days to answer. If they don’t answer, then you can file a motion for summary judgment, so that you don’t actually have to go to court for the absolute divorce. The lawyer just asks the judge to read the pleadings and grant a divorce. But if they file an extension of time to answer, then the process can go on for about two months - 60 days - and then you schedule a hearing.