Divorce Law and Family Law

A state has continuing jurisdiction to modify its own custody orders after a child and custodial parent have established residence in another state, provided the child has continuing contacts with the state that are more than slight, and one of the parents remains in the state. [...]

Under the UCCJA and PKPA a home state takes precedence for resolution of jurisdictional matters and priority of court orders. The question becomes which decree is entitled to enforcement. [...]

A mother’s right to custody of her children is a personal right entitled to as much protection as her right to alimony. The court of a first state need not give full faith and credit to a decree from a second state awarding child custody to a parent, when that decree was obtained by the parent in an ex parte divorce action in the second state, and where the court had no personal jurisdiction over the other parent. [...]

A court order requiring that a parent support a child may require that the parent seek employment. A parent whose inability to pay court ordered child support due to a willful failure to seek and obtain employment may be adjudged in contempt of court and punished. [...]

Concealment is not a defense if the children are still of a minor age and in need of the assistance. Estoppel is an equitable defense, and like in all equitable defenses justice must be balanced and all the circumstances weighed. [...]

Welsher v. Rager, 127 N.C. App. 521, 491 S.E.2d 661 (N.C. 1997).
NATURE OF THE CASE: This family law case involved a dispute over support past the age of 18 and graduation from high school.
FACTS: W and H were divorced in 1980 and in 1985 W petitioned for a court order to recognize an agreement for [...]

A court may order a parent to contribute to the college expenses of a child even though the child has reached majority. The statute does not place a time limit on a parent’s obligation child to pay for reasonable educational expenses. [...]

The court should not use a good faith test to determine child support if a parent voluntarily leaves employment. We reject the strict rule test that merely disregards any income reduction produced by voluntary conduct and looks at the earning capacity of the party in fashioning a support obligation. [...]

Undistributed income of a closely held corporation that is attributed to a minority shareholder for income tax purposes is also accountable for child support obligations. Any parent has the ability to rebut the presumptions of the schedule to ensure that the court arrives at a just or appropriate amount of child support. [...]

The economic tables at issue are an implementation of substantive law in that has declared it to be irrelevant whether the non-custodial parent actually spent more or less than that stated on the table to support their children prior to divorce. The table indicated what parents ought to spend. [...]