Free guides & articles
Read first, decide later.
The free guides and articles below were written for the people who call us — usually before they call us. They are general information about NC family law, not legal advice. They are also not paywalled.
Free guides
The North Carolina Divorce Guide
A 32-page plain-language guide to divorce in North Carolina, written by a NC Board-Certified Family Law Specialist.
The North Carolina Custody Guide
A 28-page guide to custody in North Carolina — what 'best interest of the child' really means, and what parents can do during separation to support their case.
The North Carolina Equitable Distribution Guide
A 36-page detailed guide to NC property division — classification, valuation, tracing, and the deal structures that produce clean separations.
The North Carolina Prenup Guide
A 24-page guide to drafting an enforceable prenup in NC — for couples planning to marry and for attorneys advising them.
Recent articles
Equitable Distribution · 8 min read
How does North Carolina actually divide property in a divorce?
NC is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state. Here's what that means in practice — and where 'equitable' departs from a 50/50 split.
Morgan Pell · February 14, 2025
Custody · 9 min read
Custody in NC: how courts decide, and what you can do about it
Custody decisions in North Carolina are made on the 'best interest of the child' standard. Here is what that actually looks like in practice — and what you can do to influence it.
Rivers Okafor · January 22, 2025
Divorce · 7 min read
Should you move out before filing for divorce in North Carolina?
It is one of the questions every NC divorce client asks, and the answer is more complicated than most people are told. Here is the framework we use.
Jordan Ashby · December 8, 2024
Alimony · 8 min read
Alimony in NC: how it's calculated, and why estimates online are usually wrong
Most NC alimony estimates online are based on formulas that don't apply in this state. Here is how alimony actually works in North Carolina.
Jordan Ashby · November 19, 2024
Domestic Violence · 7 min read
What a 50B Domestic Violence Protective Order actually does
A practical guide to NC's 50B order — what it covers, how to get one, and what to do if you have been served with one.
Rivers Okafor · October 30, 2024
Prenuptial Agreements · 7 min read
Prenups in NC: when they hold up, and when they don't
A well-drafted prenup is one of the most powerful documents in family law. A poorly-drafted one is one of the easiest to challenge. Here is what makes the difference.
Morgan Pell · September 17, 2024
Glossary
NC family law terminology.
The terms you'll hear most often, in plain English.
- Equitable Distribution (ED)
- NC's term for the legal process of dividing marital and divisible property in a divorce.
- Date of Separation (DOS)
- The date the parties began living separately and apart with the intent that one of them not return — central to property classification and valuation.
- Post-Separation Support (PSS)
- Temporary spousal support paid during separation, before alimony is determined.
- Alimony
- Longer-term spousal support paid after a divorce by a 'supporting spouse' to a 'dependent spouse' — decided by the court under sixteen statutory factors.
- Marital, Separate, & Divisible Property
- The three NC property classifications. Marital is acquired during marriage; separate is pre-marital or by gift/inheritance; divisible is the change in marital between DOS and distribution.
- QDRO
- Qualified Domestic Relations Order — a separate court order that directs a retirement plan administrator to allocate a marital share to a non-employee spouse.
- 50B / DVPO
- Domestic Violence Protective Order under NC General Statute Chapter 50B — civil court order protecting a person from domestic violence by a spouse, partner, or family member.
- Best Interest of the Child
- The legal standard NC courts apply to all custody decisions, evaluated against a non-exclusive list of factors.
- Substantial Change in Circumstances
- The threshold required to modify an existing custody, support, or alimony order.
- UCCJEA
- Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act — the framework that determines which state's courts have jurisdiction over custody matters.
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The free guides cover NC family law generally. Your situation will benefit from specifics — the case evaluation is the place for that.