Raleigh Divorce Attorney - Family Law Blog

A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed how electronic discovery has made it more difficult for spouses to hide their financial indiscretions from their partners. Virtually every online activity leaves some sort of footprint, but you’d be surprised how many people seem to forget that fact when they decide to start keeping secrets from their spouses. 

Electronic discovery, or e-discovery, refers to any information that comes in an electronic format. That includes e-mails, text messages, online banking activities, internet browsing histories, instant messages, social networking and any information stored on a computer’s hard drive. 

Computer data can provide a treasure trove of evidence when alleging infidelity or mishandled finances in a divorce case. In some cases, all it takes is a simple Google search to discover that a spouse owns property or a company you never knew about. According to the WSJ article, a survey from the National Endowment for Financial Education found that 31 percent of U.S. adults who combined assets with a spouse or partner said they had been deceptive about money, and 58 percent said they had actually hidden cash from their partner or spouse. 

But if you have suspicions about your own spouse’s electronic activities, it’s best to leave the investigating up to your lawyer. It can be tempting to take a peek at his laptop in the middle of the night, or sneak her smartphone into the bathroom to peruse the text messages, especially when you feel hurt and angry. But snooping around could actually jeopardize your own case. The better alternative would be to point your attorney towards any potential sources of electronic evidence that you think may be revealing.   

As Raleigh, NC divorce lawyers, we know that dissolving a marriage is a painful and stressful process that can be fraught with many complications. If you’re in the middle of a divorce, separation or child custody dispute, talking with an attorney is important to make sure that your best interests – and those of your children – are being protected.

Labels: Divorce and Separation

For most people, marriage is one of the single-most important life events. Sadly, for some people, so is divorce. 

There are an overwhelming number of considerations that must be made during divorce proceedings, especially depending on the circumstances of the split. Was one spouse unfaithful? Did you simply grow apart? Are children involved? There is even a rise in the number of pet custody cases when couples divorce, according to a recent national news story. 

But before you can address the litany of legal particulars surrounding your divorce, you need to consider hiring an attorney. It’s true that there are ways to obtain a divorce online, but like any Web-based service, buyer beware: You may miss out on key considerations through an online divorce that might have been better addressed by a lawyer. 

So how do you find the right divorce lawyer for you? First, think of what qualities you would like to see in the ideal lawyer to represent your case. Then get down to searching. You may be able to ask a friend who has gone through a divorce for a recommendation. 

In North Carolina, the State Bar – the agency that regulates all attorneys and also disciplines them in client disputes – has a “Find a Lawyer” section on its website that provides information about resources you can use to help in your search.  Good search terms might include “divorce,” “family law,” “child custody,” “alimony,” “arbitration,” “mediation,” and the name of the North Carolina city and county you live in.

OK, you’ve done the research and you’ve picked a couple of divorce attorneys that you’d like to interview before hiring them to handle your case.  A recent Huffington Post blogger outlined some of the basic questions that are essential to ask. Many of them are important questions about the technicalities of billing and other parts of the business arrangements regarding your divorce. But there are also points you may not have thought of, such as the percentage of men versus women that the attorney has represented. 

There are also specific North Carolina questions that can be worthwhile to ask. For example, there are two basic types of divorce in North Carolina, and you may have heard some other legal terminology from friends. Ask the attorney to clearly define concepts such as: 

• No-fault divorce vs. fault-based divorce;
• N.C. definition of separation;
• Absolute divorce;
• Contested and uncontested divorce;
• Collaborative divorce;
• Divorce mediation. 

If you are looking for a North Carolina divorce attorney, you should look for one whose credentials and knowledge are backed by a personality that makes you feel comfortable in an uncomfortable time.  Conduct a good interview and you’ll hopefully get exactly what you want and deserve.

Labels: Divorce and Separation

Parting couples who have children often express the same concern when they meet with their N.C. divorce lawyers for the first time: “Who gets the kids? How often am I going to get to see them?” 

There is no standard answer to these questions. Many pieces of information must be considered when it comes to North Carolina child custody and visitation agreements, but the deciding factor is usually what the court views is in the best interest of the child.  

The good news is that modern technology affords North Carolina spouses with an online option to stay in contact with their children after a split – even if they are thousands of miles apart. It’s called virtual visitation.

Six states, including North Carolina, have passed virtual visitation laws that allow non-custodial parents to get face time with their children electronically, using online tools such as Skype or Google Chat. Many parents relocate after a divorce and are unable to see their children as often as they would like. As many as 10 million children do not have regular interactions with one of their parents, according to a custody and visitation report. 

Here’s how it works: A judge can grant virtual visitation to a non-custodial parent and set up specific parameters for how the electronic arrangement will work – how much contact there will be, how often, and what topics are out of bounds. Remember, decisions are always made in the best interests of the child. It is essential that you respect those rules and avoid bad-mouthing your ex or mentioning the divorce while you are visiting virtually with your child. The purpose is to provide him or her with extra psychological and emotional support. The added benefit is that you get the same comfort, no matter where you are. 

The courts emphasize, however, that virtual visitation is NOT a replacement for face-to-face contact. But virtual visitation can bridge the gap until the next time you can be together again. 

If you are going through a divorce and will be living at a distance, talk with a North Carolina divorce attorney about the possibility of virtual visitation. It’s a win-win situation, as long as you and your ex adhere to the agreements set forth in court. 

Source: The Washington Times, “Virtual visitation – a sensible child custody option.”

Labels: Child Custody

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