In North Carolina, you can still file for divorce. The requirement for jurisdiction in North Carolina only requires that one party reside in North Carolina for six months. You just need to file the divorce in the county where your spouse resides. North Carolina can still retain jurisdiction even if you are stationed out of the state. Related Article: Divorce residency requirements for active duty military. In order to file for divorce in NC, you need a completed summons and a completed and verified complaint.
In addition, there is a fee that needs to be paid to the Clerk of Court. Please keep in mind there are additional forms that are required after the divorce has been filed i.
The complaint is filed with the Clerk of Court once the form is completed and the required fee is paid. The complaint merely states what you are asking and why i. In the complaint you must also state whether or not there are children born to the marriage.
If there are, you need to list their names in the complaint. The summons merely states to the other party that an action has been filed against them and they are required to answer. You need to make sure that you have additional copies of the summons and the complaint.
While the court keeps the original, you need extra copies to be able to serve the opposing side with the documents, as well as a copy for your records. Also, if you believe service is going to be an issue, I would make sure you have plenty of summons at least four extra signed by the Clerk of Court.
That way, you have multiple originals to attempt service. While you only need a copy of the complaint, you need an original summons to be given to the opposing party upon service. In North Carolina, you first try to serve the complaint along with the summons by sheriff. I would contact the local sheriff agency to determine their fee for service. If the sheriff is unable to serve your spouse, your next avenue is to try to serve by certified or registered mail.
You can also try to serve by personal delivery by a proper individual or by a designated delivery service i. If all those avenues fail, you must then try to serve by publication. Until the opposing party has been served with the divorce complaint you cannot do anything.
You must wait until the opposing party has been served or that service by publication has been done and there has been no response. Each case is different and therefore it is nearly impossible to determine how long it takes to receive a divorce. Again, in North Carolina this varies county by county. Some counties require live testimony, while others do not.
The divorce is granted once it is scheduled for hearing after the opposing party has had the opportunity to answer the complaint or the opposing party has failed to come forward after service by publication. Once the hearing has been scheduled, the judge ensures all the requirements have been met i.
Once again, you will need to speak to an attorney to determine whether or not a court appearance is necessary. In Mecklenburg County, there is a self-serve center that has the necessary forms to file for divorce. They can help you fill out the forms and obtain a divorce.
In other counties, there may be other free services that help people obtain a divorce without an attorney. However, I would speak to an attorney prior to filing for divorce on your own, so that they can discuss with you the other possible claims that may be available to you. According to North Carolina divorce laws, you do not need to prove fault for divorce. The same rule applies to debts. If no one files for spousal support before the absolute divorce is final, both parties forever lose the right to ask a court for alimony.
Because a divorce permanently cuts off the right to equitable distribution and alimony, it is important to contact an attorney to assist you in preserving your rights. Child custody and child support claims are not affected by divorce. Parents, regardless of marital status, can file at any time for custody of children under the age of See the Child Custody Help Topic for more information.
Similarly, parents can file at any time for child support for children under 18 or still in high school and under age 20 , regardless of marital status. See the Child Support Help Topic for more information. Your spouse must be served with the divorce paperwork no matter where he or she lives, though rules about how to serve your spouse depend on the state or country where your spouse lives.
In general, if you both lived in North Carolina during the marriage and your spouse has moved away, you can still pursue other claims against your spouse in North Carolina, including property division and spousal support. You must schedule a hearing for your absolute divorce in order to go before a judge and to receive the divorce.
Simple divorce hearings are usually very quick. On the day of the hearing, you will testify under oath about the facts that show you are eligible to get divorced, and in most circumstances, you will leave court with a copy of your divorce judgment.
What do I need to do to prove that I have been separated for at least a year? Your truthful testimony to the court, under oath, can prove your separation. You can also present other witnesses or documents. A separation agreement between you and your spouse can be helpful to show the court. How do I change back to my prior last name after I get divorced?
You can include a request to resume your maiden name in your complaint for divorce and have the name change ordered in your divorce judgment.
You can also file an application to resume your former name with the clerk of court. You can find the necessary form here. You can find more information about filing for divorce and necessary forms here.
Equitable distribution is a legal claim for property division, in which a spouse can ask the court for assistance in dividing the assets and debts acquired during the marriage.
However, a spouse may have some claim to an asset based on active increases in value during the marriage. Divisible property may be divided between the parties depending on the circumstances. There is not a standard form to file for equitable distribution, and the process is often complicated. Some counties have local rules requiring specific information to be provided at particular times in the court case.
You may contact an attorney to assist you with an equitable distribution claim. Not always. However, the law provides for many factors that allow for an unequal distribution of property, in situations where an equal division would not be fair. All rights reserved. Department of Justice. Neither the U. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided.
Skip to main content. Laws current as of. What are the residency requirements to file for divorce in North Carolina? What are the reasons grounds for divorce in North Carolina? What are the reasons I can get an annulment? Can I get alimony?
Additionally, the plaintiff must set forth the name and age of any minor child or children of the marriage, and in the event there are no such minor children, the complaint shall so state. The complaint must be verified. Where verification is not made or is improperly made, the court lacks jurisdiction to grant a divorce. For a complaint for divorce to be valid, it must be properly verified at the time it is filed. The complaint for absolute divorce is filed in district court.
The action shall be filed in the county in which either plaintiff or defendant resides. If the parties are both residents of North Carolina and the action is filed where plaintiff resides, and plaintiff thereafter leaves the state and ceases to be a resident, then the action may be removed to the county in which defendant resides. A sample of the prescribed contents of divorce complaint are illustrated on this website. Service of the summons and complaint must be in compliance with Rule 4, which is the applicable rule of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.
Service is the form of delivery of a document required by pertinent legal rules. There are various ways you can serve the summons and complaint. The defendant typically has 30 days from the date of service of summons and complaint upon him or her to file answer or other responsive pleading. A defendant can also move for an additional day extension of time.
It commonly happens, however, that defendants in divorce actions file no answer. In such a case, you just wait out the waiting period for calendaring the case for hearing or, if your spouse will agree, you get him or her to file a paper waiving the waiting period.
At the expiration of the applicable waiting period, the case may be calendared for hearing. Even though the defendant may have filed an answer admitting all of the allegations, the plaintiff must still prove to the court, by one of the two stated methods, that he or she is entitled to an absolute divorce.
If your attorney uses summary judgment, you yourself do not have to go to court for the divorce hearing. Only your attorney appears, and your attorney gets the divorce for you. The trial court procedure for obtaining an absolute divorce varies slightly from county to county. Many counties set a specific day of each week or month for the hearing of uncontested divorces. Different judges have their own rules for conducting these hearings.
Check with local counsel to be certain that you understand the local customs. In non-summary judgment divorces, the court will typically call the case for trial and the plaintiff and counsel for the plaintiff, if the party is represented will come forward. Usually neither the defendant no his or her attorney are present.
The plaintiff will be sworn in and placed upon the witness stand. Counsel for the plaintiff requests permission to approach the bench and hands up the divorce judgment and the appropriate number of copies.
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