Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog

Mecklenburg County Jury Duty

Published on: August 31, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Mecklenburg County is doing its best to optimize the experience for the thousands of citizens who are called upon to serve on jury duty each month. The courthouse now features a business center and a daycare center for jurors’ use, as well as a juror assembly room with free Wi-Fi and an area where mothers can pump breast milk. During the wait to be called, movies are shown for jurors in the assembly room, where free popcorn is supplied. All jurors are also given a 90-minute lunch break.

Last week, the 26th Judicial District of North Carolina (Mecklenburg County) held a juror appreciation week, featuring a jazz ensemble, a celebrity speaker, and discounts for jurors at local restaurants near the courthouse. Juror Appreciation Week, which the district has put on every year for the past decade, was organized in order to “applaud the jurors who support the justice system” and make the juror experience more pleasant for all citizens who serve.

Every month, nearly 8,000 residents are selected for jury duty, although so far this year only about 6,000 potential jurors have actually sat on a jury. The National Center for State Courts reports, which sets benchmark statistics, declares that less than 5 percent of jurors in a county should be no-shows. In Mecklenburg County, only 4 percent of potential jurors never show up. Those who fail to appear for jury duty will receive a letter notifying them of their failure to appear. A repeat offender who fails to appear, without a valid reason, can face fines or be held in contempt of court by the judge.

Family Law Attorneys and Indefinite Separation

Published on: August 27, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent New York Times article, more couples facing marital strife are now choosing to stay separated indefinitely rather than file for divorce. Many spouses who choose to live apart and carry on separate lives are still connected by the bonds of marriage: they file joint tax returns, carry joint insurance policies, and even occasionally visit one another. However, even long-estranged couples are bound by contractual issues like taxes, pensions, Social Security, and healthcare coverage.

target=”_blank”Charlotte divorce lawyers and marriage therapists report that the motivation for most couples to remain married is financial. Under federal law, an ex-spouse qualifies for a share of a spouse’s Social Security payment if the marriage lasts a decade. Occasionally, if a divorce is proceeding amicably, financial advisors and lawyers may urge a couple who have been married for nearly ten years to wait until the dependent spouse qualifies. For some couples, a separation agreement may be negotiated between the parties so that one spouse can keep the other’s insurance until he or she qualifies for Medicare. Thus, in the current economic recession, there is an incentive for couples to separate indefinitely: to avoid the real estate lows and the high care expense highs.

One family law attorney quoted by the New York Times reported that the biggest surprise to her was her clients’ primary consideration behind indefinite separation. She reports that the clients consider practical and financial, rather than familial, ramifications. The effect of these separations on the couple’s children rarely seems to be a priority. Furthermore, indefinite separations can leave a mess for survivors, as a spouse will still have legal rights to a predeceased spouse’s estate, even if separated.

In-Laws, Divorce and Lawyers

Published on: August 24, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

This month, Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, announced her engagement to her son’s father, Levi Johnston. However, Johnston is facing a long road ahead with his future in-laws after making accusations about them over the past year and engaging in some questionable public behavior.

Johnston is not the only future son-in-law who needs to work to smooth over in-law relations, according to studies conducted by the National Marriage Project. Researchers report that married couples with more support from their in-laws tend to encounter less conflict in their marriages. Disagreements between spouses and in-laws usually arise when parents have difficulty letting go of their grown children. Unrealistic expectations from in-laws can also fuel arguments, particularly between wives and mothers-in-law.

For those suffering from in-law induced distress, there are dozens of online venting forums and Facebook groups available for spouses to complain and seek solace among fellow sons and daughters in-law. However, most marriage experts suggest that a spouse who dislikes his or her in-laws should address any problems with them directly.

Domestic Violence in North Carolina

Published on: August 19, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to the Charlotte Observer, Rockingham County sheriff’s deputies reported on Wednesday that one of their residents is facing felony charges after shooting his wife with a wad of toilet paper stuffed into a gun.
The 38-year-old man was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after he shot his wife when she returned to their home late Tuesday night. According to the sheriff’s department, the suspect loaded a black power pistol with toilet paper, then fired the weapon at his 55-year-old wife, who was in bed. His wife suffered a powder burn from the gunshot and was being treated at a local hospital. Bond was set for her husband at $1,000. He is due to appear in court on August 11.

Domestic Violence in Charlotte Area and Facebook

Published on: August 16, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

A woman in Kings Mountain, North Carolina is now facing domestic violence charges for allegedly threatening another Kings Mountain resident over Facebook. Breanna Shanae Nance, 19, sent threatening messages via Facebook to a “current or former household member” of hers.

Nance was arrested last Friday on a misdemeanor domestic violence protective order violation, which was filed against her on June 23. According to the complainant’s affidavit, when the papers were served upon Nance, she threatened to murder the complainant in various Facebook messages. Nance is currently being held without bond in the Gaston County Jail.

Marriage, Divorce and A.D.H.D. in Charlotte, North Carolina

Published on: August 14, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Mental health experts recently reported that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or A.D.H.D., may be unknowingly taking a toll on many adult relationships. Studies suggested that at least 4 percent of adults now have A.D.H.D. and that as many as half of all children diagnosed with A.D.H.D. do not fully outgrow it and continue to struggle with the symptoms in adulthood. In a marriage, the common symptoms of the disorder, such as distraction, disorganization, and forgetfulness, can easily be misinterpreted as laziness, selfishness, and a lack of love and concern.

Adults with A.D.H.D. often learn coping skills to help them stay organized and focused at work, but continue to struggle at home, where they have a tendency to become distracted from household tasks. Some research suggests that adults with A.D.H.D. are twice as likely to be divorced, where another study found high levels of distress in 60 percent of marriages in which one spouse had A.D.H.D.

In these marriages, one spouse can be left with 100 percent of the family responsibility when the other spouse forgets to attend to certain tasks, leaving the responsible spouse frustrated and the spouse with the disorder confused by their partner’s anger. Long to-do lists or messy homes feel overwhelming to a brain with A.D.H.D., causing the spouse to retreat to a friendly distraction, such as a computer or video game. If the other spouse does not know that distraction is the issue, he or she may start to think that the spouse simply does not care about the problem at hand.

Domestic Violence Protective Orders and Prosecution – Follow Up

Published on: August 10, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

To follow up on our earlier article (Domestic Violence Protective Orders and DV Warning Signs), more information and helpful advice from law enforcement authorities has surfaced regarding the murder-suicide committed by Austen Minter in Dallas, North Carolina last week.

Police, prosecutors, and judges involved in the prior domestic violence incidents between Minter and his girlfriend, Tracy Hedgepath, say that they could not stop the violence because Hedgepath would not help to prosecute her abuser nor provide the police with enough evidence of the abuse. Domestic violence experts report that it is common for victims of domestic violence to back off from pursuing punishment out of fear. Alternatively, victims may hope that their relationship will improve or that they should keep a husband or a father for their children.

So, can domestic violence cases be prosecuted without victim cooperation?

Domestic Violence Protective Orders and DV Warning Signs

Published on: August 6, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

As reported by Fox Charlotte, recently a tragic, and perhaps preventable, murder-suicide took place in Dallas, North Carolina. Austen Minter, a North Carolina resident with a history of domestic violence, engaged in a domestic argument with his pregnant girlfriend at her home before shooting her and their three children, and then himself. The 6-year-old and 3-year-old children died from their gunshot wounds, while the 7-year-old remains in serious condition at Carolinas Medical Center.

Prior to the attack, the warning signs of domestic violence were all present to law enforcement. Since June of 2008, there have been 24 calls for police assistance to the residence, most of them with reports of domestic violence. In January of 2008, a domestic violence protective order was filed against Minter by his girlfriend. Last month, there were several domestic violence warrants filed against Minter, but police were unable to find him. Neighbors report that they witnessed Minter violently confront his girlfriend several times in the past outside of their home.

If you have witnessed any of the warning signs of domestic violence, domestic violence advocate Bea Cote has some words of advice regarding how to make a report. Cote reports that neighbors who witness scenes between a couple often see the violence as a private affair or domestic squabble, and feel uncomfortable getting involved in the couple’s business. A witness to a crime should call 911 every single time he or she witnesses any type of assault. Neighbors should report anything they hear or see that is suspicious. The more reports police get, the more likely they are to investigate the situation and try to put a halt to the occurrences.

Charlotte Divorce Attorneys, Adultery and Facebook

Published on: August 3, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

As discussed previously in this blog (Divorce Attorneys Becoming Facebook Sleuths), the popular social networking site Facebook has become the catalyst for a great deal of recent divorce litigation. According to a recent survey by Divorce-Online.com, more than 5,000 attorneys report that Facebook is mentioned in about 20 percent of their divorce cases. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers attributes these statistics to a great number of clients who are sharing more and more aspects of their private lives on Facebook.

The new website www.FacebookCheating.com was created by a Massachusetts man in 2009 after he discovered his wife’s affair on Facebook. He created the site in an effort to help others cope with a spouse cheating on them, as well as to provide information on how to recognize whether a spouse is cheating. Facebook, which has over 400 million reported registered users, is reportedly the social networking site of choice by far for many clients, with MySpace and Twitter coming in second and third, respectively. Divorce attorneys report that the most widely-used types of evidence produced in domestic cases from Facebook are direct messages and incriminating photos posted by friends.

Is Divorce Contagious in Charlotte, North Carolina?

Published on: July 30, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to a recent study conducted by a trio of researchers from Brown, Harvard, and the University of California – San Diego, divorce can be contagious and can spread between friends, siblings, and coworkers. The research relies on data from the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts, which studied the lives of more than 12,000 Americans living in Framingham since 1948.

The study indicates that if a close friend’s marriage is on the rocks, your chance of divorce increases by 75 percent. If the friend follows through with the divorce, your chance of divorce increases by another 33.3 percent. Whether or not a friend’s divorce has an adverse effect on your marriage depends largely on your perception of how the divorced couple handled it. The study also found that the more friends a husband and wife have together, the lower their chances of divorce. The odds are also lowered for couples who have had children, as couples with more children have a lower susceptibility of being influenced by divorced peers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 data, nearly 50 percent of marriages end in divorce within the first 15 years.