General Rules:

An absolute divorce completely severs and terminates the marital relationship, and the parties are free to remarry. A court case must be filed to obtain an absolute divorce. Once the other spouse is served with a copy of the summons and complaint, he or she has 30 days to answer the complaint. If no answer is filed, a divorce judgment can be obtained after the 30 day period. If an answer is filed that admits the allegations of the complaint, the divorce can generally be obtained immediately.

It is important to know that a divorcing party's right to equitable distribution of property and/or spousal support must be filed before the judgment of absolute divorce is obtained. If these rights are not protected by a filed pleading prior to the divorce judgment being entered, such rights are forever lost.

In most cases, a client is not required to make a court appearance for Mr. Kelso to obtain her or his absolute divorce.

Grounds: 

A party to the divorce must be a resident of North Carolina for more than six months prior to filing an action for absolute divorce. There are only two grounds for absolute divorce in North Carolina: (1) separation for more than one year; and, (2) insanity of the defendant spouse. An insane party may not legally obtain an absolute divorce in North Carolina. Most parties obtain an absolute divorce based upon being separated for more than one year.

A party is not eligible to file for an absolute divorce until one year following the date of separation, which is generally defined as not living together under the same roof. Parties who have separated, and then resumed marital relations, are not eligible to file for an absolute divorce until they have been living separate and apart for one year. However, isolated incidences of sexual intercourse by spouses do not constitute a resumption of marital relations under North Carolina's divorce laws.

For a Christian Perspective on Divorce, Click on:

Christian Family Law Association 

Fees:

A flat fee of $150, plus the costs of court and service fees are charged for an uncontested absolute divorce based upon separation for more than one year. This is the same fee Mr. Kelso charged for an absolute divorce when he started his practice in 1978. In other words, we hope our client's will be reconciled and avoid divorce. But if that is not possible, our goal is not to profit from our client's absolute divorce. We also want to make absolute divorce an affordable option for clients who desire to remarry and thereby avoid the immoral option taken by many in our society today, that is to live in a status of unmarried cohabitation.  

Our fee for an absolute divorce is the same today as it was in 1978!

$150.00 plus the applicable court cost and service fees.  

Call Mr. Kelso today:

Phone:                704-865-8684