It is important to understand the different types of spousal support available in North Carolina. The first type of financial support that a court may award a spouse is called post-separation support. This is a form of temporary support that may be granted on an expedited basis. The court may order a supporting spouse to pay post-separation support or PPS to a dependent spouse while the divorce process is underway. It is money that is typically used to cover the dependent spouse’s living expenses while the couple is living separately prior to divorce. Court orders for PPS typically terminate when alimony is granted or denied.
Alimony is financial support that the court may order one spouse to pay to another after the terms of a divorce have been finalized. North Carolina law does not have a formula for setting alimony. The judge decides how much alimony is appropriate after analyzing many factors. If support is awarded, the court also determines whether the support will be temporary or ongoing. Alimony payments may be granted temporarily to give a dependent partner time to return to school, gain job skills, and gain employment. Once the spouse is self-sufficient, the payments may be ended by the court. Alimony also ends if the spouse receiving the support remarries or moves in with another romantic partner.
In North Carolina, there is no set formula that establishes how much a person will owe or receive in alimony. Instead, the spouse seeking alimony presents evidence to support the claim that he or she is financially dependent on the other and needs financial assistance. In cases where both husband and wife have similar incomes, a judge may not deem alimony necessary. In cases where one spouse works within the home, or one spouse makes significantly more than the other, alimony may be appropriate in the court’s eyes.