Regarding divorce in North Carolina, North Carolina’s public policy is to encourage individuals to work out their differences and stay married to one another. North Carolina is a pro-marriage state.
Therefore, North Carolina has a strict one year requirement that must be met before individuals can obtain a divorce. The statute requires that the parties “remain separate and apart with the intent not to resume the marital relationship.”
North Carolina courts have shed some light on what it means to be separate and apart. Unfortunately, sleeping in separate beds or in different parts of the house are not enough.
The parties must be in different homes for the period to begin to run. It must be one full year. Therefore, the parties must wait a year and a day in order to file for an absolute divorce.
There has been some debate about whether isolated incidents of sexual intercourse during the separation period negates the separation period and starts the one year period over again. North Carolina case law has shed some light on the issue and has said that these isolated incidents will not, as an absolute rule, negate the separation period.
Instead, the date of separation will be determined by all of the surrounding circumstances and on a case by case basis, taking into consideration any isolated incidents.