The allocation of pension rights in a separation agreement can be done in two ways, in the form of set-off of the surrender value or a future percentage of payments. The first is to calculate the present value of the pension at present and offset (or negotiate) it with the value of another asset, such as the pension or marital residence of the other spouse. The second approach defers sharing until the working spouse receives pension payments. At that time, the non-retired spouse would receive a share of each cheque equal to half (or another percentage) of the conjugal portion. The marital share is that which accumulated during the marriage. The conjugal share can be calculated by dividing the years of service of the conjugal pension by the total number of years of pension. If the latter is unknown, the marriage share is expressed as a formula, such as: “19/x, where 19 represents the years of military service for the husband during his marriage to his wife and x his total years of military service.” It is therefore not surprising that many families feel overwhelmed by the additional emotional wear and tear of processing court documents, including the arduous discovery process of exchanging written documents and answering written or oral questions, selecting and interviewing potential witnesses, and all the fear of formal legal proceedings. Litigation is a sufficient burden if he doesn`t feel like the whole web of his life is collapsing in one fell swoop. If the idea of who you are and what the future will bring changes, sometimes radically changed, through separation and divorce, then the legal dispute is almost more than anyone can bear. A separation agreement or other written document is not required to be legally separated in North Carolina. To be considered separated from your spouse, you must live in different homes and at least one of you must intend the separation to be permanent.
In general, you are not legally separated if your relationship has ended but you still live in the same apartment or if you live in separate houses without the intention of being separated permanently (for example. B for professional purposes). A separation agreement is a private contract between spouses who are separated or who plan to separate very soon. A separation agreement contains agreed terms that deal with various issues related to separation, for example. B which spouse is responsible for certain bills, whether a person will continue to live in the matrimonial home or where the children will live. A typical separation agreement includes the details of separation, division of property, spousal support and, if there are children, custody and child support. Most separation agreements do not address the second and third elements. A separation agreement can resolve any legal issue that would otherwise be decided by a judge. The only thing a separation agreement cannot do is grant the actual divorce. The parties may also agree in the separation agreement that a breach will result in the cancellation of only part of the separation agreement (the part that has been breached) and not the entire agreement.
This avoids “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” if there is a problem with only part of the deal. No. Unlike other states, North Carolina only allows a no-fault divorce, which requires at least a year of separation. Another category of property that can be subdivided is “divisible property.” This is property derived from matrimonial property but does not exist at the time of separation (DOS). Examples include interest and dividends on financial assets under DOS, post-DOS appreciation (or depreciation), and compensation received under DOS for pre-DOS services. All of the above objections apply to separation agreements that are only contracts. When a separation agreement is included in a court decision, the parties lose their contractual defense. Other procedures apply when a party challenges the enforcement of an agreement that is now part of a court decision. First, verbal agreements are unenforceable. Therefore, the parties run the risk that the other party will not maintain its share of the agreement by not classifying the terms of an agreement in a binding written contract. Second, there are a number of issues that a separation agreement resolves, in addition to the major divorce-related claims (division of property, spousal support, child custody, and child support) that most people think about.
Even if a separation agreement states that the parties can enforce it by bringing an action for a certain performance, the party who moves must still prove that: unless the agreement expressly states what will happen in the event of the death of a party, the courts will pay attention to the intention of the parties. In rare cases, a party may seek punitive damages for violating a separation agreement. Ask? Our divorce lawyer serves clients in Charlotte, Huntersville, Mathews, Mint Hill, Concord, Mooresville, Davidson and Harrisburg in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus County and is well versed in the laws and procedures in a variety of divorce matters. .