Helpful Links & Resources

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North Carolina divorce law begins with the North Carolina General Statutes. This link will take you to the Table of Contents for all state statutes. While the laws relating to most family law matters will generally be found under Chapter 50, certain family law issues require the application of statutes in other chapters such as Chapter 7B (juvenile), Chapter 48 (adoptions), Chapter 50A (interstate custody), and others. When a case is in litigation (pending in court before a judge), the civil procedure statutes under Chapter 1A (the "Rules of Civil Procedure") become extremely important and have the potential to determine the outcome of your case. 

To understand what a family law statute actually means and/or how it might apply to the facts in your particular case, it may be helpful (or even necessary) to review the relevant appellate court opinions published by the North Carolina Court of Appeals and North Carolina Supreme Court. This is especially true where some of North Carolina's divorce-related laws are based almost exclusively on appellate court opinions. 

Thousands of North Carolina appellate court opinions are available on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website. However, while some opinions (especially new and notable ones) can be found easily online, extensive legal research is often required before the desired case is found. 

Experienced divorce attorneys often conduct legal research by searching private, subscription-based platforms/services and by referencing a number of legal periodicals and publications. 

When a family law claim like child custody or child support is litigated in court before a judge, or when court action is necessary as in the case of adoptions, name changes, and divorces, standard forms are often required. These forms may be required statewide or only by a particular county. It is thus important to review the local court rules of the county in which a case is pending to determine whether any forms are required. You can search for these forms and local rules on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website. 

Local rules and forms for courts in Winston Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, can be found here.   This is a helpful resource that includes forms like calendar requests, financial standing affidavits, employer wage affidavit, a motion to waive child custody mediation, as well as many others. 

Family Law matters are generally litigated in District Court. As of 2022, two sets of local court rules were provided to the public in Forsyth County: one set of rules applies to equitable distribution actions only and the other set of rules applies to claims including child custody, child support, post separation support, motions to modify custody, child support, post-separation support and alimony, attorney fees, non-jury alimony and divorce from bed and board claims, appointment of parenting coordinator, actions regarding marital agreements, pretrial conferences related to same, and contempt and enforcement matters related to same.

The Register of Deeds Office's website is a good resource to find and obtain information relevant to various divorce matters, particularly equitable distribution. 

If you are separating from your spouse in Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Kernersville, or any other town in the area, you or your lawyer should be searching the Forsyth County, NC land records on this Forsyth Deeds website. A divorce shouldn't be finalized until your county's real property records are searched. 

High quality representation begins with experience but requires a variety of other qualities, traits, and skills. A good divorce lawyer will care about you and your case and will take pride in putting in the work necessary to protect your interests and obtain exceptional results. 

Family law attorneys are busy, but they should never be too busy for your case. Your case is important and deserves proactive attention. Your calls and emails should be returned within a reasonable amount of time. Questions should be answered and concerns should be addressed. If something is important to you, it should be a priority to your attorney. Find an attorney who respects you. 

Experienced family law attorneys provide the most value when they understand and empathize with their clients' unique needs and concerns. Not all clients want the same thing. Good divorce attorneys and custody lawyers have compassion and will use active listening to provide their clients with individualized representation. 

If your divorce lawyer is experienced in family law issues, he should have skills that enable him to competently represent you during all possible stages of your case from early negotiations to mediation and then all the way to trial or appeal. Skillful advocates want to help you resolve your case without litigation but will not hesitate to go to trial when necessary to protect your rights and interests. 

Bennett D. Rainey is a child custody lawyer who provides his clients with compassionate advocacy, creative solutions, and honest advice. Bennett understands the importance of managing the emotional and financial aspects of highly contested family law matters. He works hard to achieve the best results possible for his clients while minimizing the toll it takes on their daily lives. 

Bennett is an effective legal advocate for divorce and family law clients in Winston Salem, Clemmons, Thomasville, Lexington, High Point, and other cities across North Carolina. He represents parents in child custody and visitation disputes as well as husbands and wives in all aspects of divorce including separation, alimony, and property division. Bennett is also a trained collaborative divorce attorney.

Schedule a divorce consultation with Bennett today by calling his office at 336-768-1515 or by submitting this form on his firm's website.