Durham County Courthouse

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Durham County Courthouse
Address:Attn: Family Court, 6th Floor

510 South Dillard St.

Durham, NC 27701
Divorce by Clerk?No; requires a hearing before a judge
Local RulesDurham County Local Rules and Forms

The Durham County Courthouse may be where your divorce disputes are litigated if at least one of the spouses live in Durham County.[1] Like most North Carolina courts, the Durham courthouse has a lot of rules, deadlines, forms, and procedures that are specific to that courthouse. This courthouse's local rules and forms can be found here. However, most spouses will not end up using all 37 forms or need to read all 30 pages of the family court rules. This wiki will summarize the rules and forms are applicable to a large number of Durham cases.

Directions

The Durham County Courthouse has a parking structure attached to it. On floor 3 of the parking structure is a ramp that leads directly to the courthouse. Once you enter the courthouse and go through security, turn left and find the elevators on the right-hand side. The family court is located on the sixth floor. The clerk's office as at the end of the hallway on that floor.

Local Forms

The following are the most commonly-used forms specific to the Durham County Courthouse you should know about before filing a lawsuit in this court:

  • Judicial Assignment: The "Affidavit of Judicial Assignment" (Form DUR-DOM-01) is required in all new lawsuits.
  • Custody: When filing a new custody claim, a "Notice To Attend Orientation & Parenting Apart Class" (DUR-DOM-06) is required. Also, there is a blue notebook in the clerk's office to sign up for orientation.
  • Alimony: When completing service of process for a new alimony claim, a completed Financial Affidavit (Form DUR-DOM-08) must served, along with a blank copy for the other spouse to complete. The other spouse's Financial Affidavit is due at the status conference, pre-trial conference, or 5 days before a temporary hearing, whichever comes first. The last two years of tax returns should also be provided.[2]
  • Alimony: An Employer Wage Affidavit (Form DUR-DOM-09) is also required by both spouses. This is a document the spouses provide to their employer to verify their wages, The employer wage affidavits from each spouse are due at a status conference, pre-trial conference, or 5 days before a temporary hearing, whichever comes first.
  • Equitable Distribution: Financial disclosures using the Inventory Affidavit (Form DUR-DOM 10) and Certification of Initial Disclosures (Form DUR-DOM 12) are due before the status conference,[3] within 90 days of filing a lawsuit, or within 30 days of receiving your spouse's affidavit.[4]
  • Equitable Distribution: The inventory affidavit is later updated with a Form DUR-DOM-11 Inventory Affidavit that is due within 30 days of a failed mediation or settlement conference. Unlike the initial DUR-DOM 12 affidavit, the allegations made in DUR-DOM-11 are binding on the spouse making the affidavit at trial.[5]

Equitable Distribution Disclosures

Each courthouse has slightly different rules about what financial records must be shared automatically in an equitable distribution case and provided with the Inventory Affidavit. Generally, each line item on the affidavit should have some kind of evidence attached as to the item's value as of the date of separation. However, the documents specifically required by the Durham court include the following:[6]

  • Real Estate: Any appraisals or any deed documents related to a mortgage.
  • Vehicles: A copy of the title and any applicable loan documents.
  • Accounts: Statements covering three months before the date of separation up to the date of the status conference. This includes 401ks, brokerage accounts, pensions, IRAs, debt, etc.
  • A Credit Report: This can be obtained through www.annualcreditreport.com or through your bank.

Scheduling

Status Conference

At a status conference, the parties will complete a Discovery Conference Order (Form DUR-DOM 15) for an equitable distribution claim and/or Form DUR-DOM 14 for other claims. These documents set deadlines in the litigation for discovery, mediation, and other aspects of the case. Also, the clerk will need either a Designation of a Mediator Form (Form AOC-CV-825) or Form AOC-CV-826. These documents determine what form of dispute resolution the parties will attempt prior to trial.

Pre-Trial Conference

At a pre-trial conference, the parties will need to complete Form DUR-DOM-16 for custody and/or DUR-DOM-17 for alimony, child support, and equitable distribution. These are similar to the documents provided in the status conference in that they set deadlines and scheduling. However, they also include any stipulations regarding issues or facts the parties agree on.

Continuances

A continuance is where one of the spouses asks the court to re-schedule a hearing for a later date. The Durham County courthouse uses Form DUR-DOM-05 to request a continuance. It requires that any written continuance motions be filed at least five days before the hearing date. However, oral motions can be made before the judge on the hearing date itself.

Hearings

Scheduling a Hearing

Scheduling a hearing requires:

The parties and the family case coordinator must attempt to collaborate on a date for the hearing that is convenient for everyone. However, the family case coordinator will schedule a hearing without your spouse's input if your spouse does not cooperate in providing convenient dates. Interim hearings are restricted to one hour per issue.[7] At an interim hearing, each spouse can use a maximum of five affidavits and those affidavits must be served one week before the hearing.[7] However, for hearings on the core claims, they are ordinarily scheduled automatically with the Affidavit of Judicial Assignment when the lawsuit is filed.

Calendars

The Durham Court had three different calendars:

  • The A1 Calendar is for priority hearings, such as if the case is already behind schedule.
  • The A2 Calendar is for brief matters, such as divorce judgments
  • The B Calendar is a backup calendar for hearings that take place if the A1 hearing is rescheduled

Once a hearing is completed, the proposed court order has to be served on the opposing spouse within 15 days. That opposing spouse then has 7 days to respond. The proposed order is submitted with an Order Cover Sheet (Form DUR-DOM-21).

Divorce

The Durham County Courthouse does not comply with the divorce by clerk statute.[8] All divorce decrees require a hearing before a judge. As a result, an Affidavit of Judicial Assignment (DUR-DOM-01) is required even in simple, uncontested divorces.[9]

Contact an Attorney

This wiki is provided by North Carolina divorce lawyer David King and his firm King @ Law. You can learn more about King @ Law at www.kinglawnc.com. If you are looking to hire an attorney, have questions, or would like to contribute to this wiki, you can contact attorney King using any of the following methods:

References

  1. ↑ § 50-3
  2. ↑ Local Rule 12.2
  3. ↑ Local Rule 11.2
  4. ↑ Local Rule 13.1
  5. ↑ Local Rule 13.3
  6. ↑ Local Rule 13.2
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Local Rule 5.2
  8. ↑ See §50-10(e)
  9. ↑ Local Rule 6.1

Other links

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