THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 12, 1995 TAG: 9504120418
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
A state legislative panel was urged on Tuesday to change North Carolina divorce laws to hasten property settlement disputes between divorcing couples.
More than a dozen speakers - mostly women from Piedmont and western North Carolina - told the House Judiciary II Committee that they support a bill that would require divorcing couples to agree on property settlements before thir divorces are granted.
State law now allows couples to divorce and settle property disputes at a later date.
This law has led to a phenomenon known as ``starving the wife,'' which allows the wealthier spouse to withhold support payments and delay property distribution for several years after a divorce is granted.
``I'm very scared about my future and I am concerned about the future of North Carolina,'' said Diane Peppard, 48, of Charlotte.
She said North Carolina's current property settlement laws left her near poverty for several years after her marriage of 25 years ended in divorce.
Chris Ward, also of Charlotte, said she had waited 10 years for a property settlement with her ex-husband, owed $200,000 in lawyer fees and had lost custody of her son as a result of the lengthy legal fight.
``Divorce should wait on property division,'' she said.
Under the bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Hackney, an Orange County Republican, a couple could not divorce until all equitable distribution claims are resolved.
The bill is one of six affecting North Carolina divorce laws that were considered by the committee Tuesday. Also under review by the panel are:
A bill creating an education program for divorcing couples with children;
A bill to sanction those involved in equitable distribution proceedings if they purposely delay the proceedings;
A bill changing the laws pertaining to alimony;
A bill creating a pilot mediation program for equitable distribution cases;
A bill allowing interim distribution of assets in equitable distribution cases.
Most of the bills are the result of a recent legislative study on family issues that found a growing number of women and children living in poverty because of delays in property distribution cases.
The study found that case delays were particularly significant in Mecklenburg County courts and in northeastern North Carolina, where a judicial seat had been vacant for several months.
In the study, a number of women reported living in their cars or being forced to apply for food stamps while waiting for equitable distribution cases to be settled.
KEYWORDS: DIVORCE LAWS NORTH CAROLINA PROPOSED by CNB