In a recent interview with People Magazine, Elizabeth Edwards reveals that she and husband John Edwards will not divorce, but will remain separated unless one decides to remarry.  In cases of separation, spouses are not legally permitted to remarry.  In order to remarry a divorce is necessary.

Former presidential candidate and North Carolina governor John Edwards admitted to having an affair with a former campaign videographer after she revealed that he had fathered her child.

In her interview, Elizabeth explains that it was not easy to leave her husband of 32 years after learning of the affair.  Furthermore, she says she found strength in her mother, whose husband was also unfaithful and taught her "how to continue your life on your own terms when somehow it becomes savaged by people you never invited into it".

The two will be selling their $5.5 million mansion in Chapel Hill.

If you or someone you know is considering separation, contact the Raleigh separation lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

Interact, a Wake County domestic violence shelter, developed a list of fourteen questions for law enforcements officials in North Carolina to use to assess the risk of domestic violence in a situation.  

Interact supports victims of domestic violence and promotes awareness of domestic violence.  Interact's clinical educational director, Stephanie Francis, believes that the questions not only help police determine the risk of abuse but also victims.  "It's easy to not want to believe how dangerous the situation can be," stated Francis.

The questions address threats, violent tendencies, weapons, and the victim's thoughts.  For example, has the physical violence increased in frequency in the past six months or year?  What do you think will happen between you and your partner in the near future?  Are you expecting a violent attack?  

If a victim answers yes to three or more of the fourteen questions they are considered to be at high risk.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of domestic violence, contact the Raleigh domestic violence lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that the father who quit his job to join a religious commune will not be able to escape child support and alimony payments.  

John Lee Shippen quit his job as a corrections officer and moved to the Twelve Tribes of Israel religious commune, which prohibits its members from earning outside income.  Shippen declared that it was against his religion to pay the child support and alimony payments of $1,106 per month to his ex-wife Shirley Ritchie Shippen.

When John Lee Shippen failed to make his child support and alimony payments he was found in contempt.  After this, he appealed the ruling, however the North Carolina Court of Appeals denied the appeal.  Judge Wanda Bryant stated, "Defendant did not quit his job and join a religious community until after entry of the support order...That defendant's religious beliefs are sincerely held, as the trial court found, is irrelevant".

To discuss child support or alimony payments, contact the Raleigh child support lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights. 

The week of Father's Day is also National Men's Health Week which recognizes health issues specific to men.

One issue often ignored is male victims of domestic violence.  While women do make up the large majority, 85 to 95 percent, of domestic violence victims, men can just as easily be victims of physical and verbal abuse.

The exact number of male victims is very hard to determine because the numbers are low, and made even lower due to the assumptions that men cannot be victims of domestic abuse.  Domestic violence experts and psychologists believe that many men are reluctant to admit that they have been abused.  Furthermore, signs of domestic abuse easily noticed in women, like bruising or injuries, are often simply regarded as sports or work injuries in men.

While it is crucial to stop domestic violence against women, it is very important that domestic violence against men be recognized and not hidden in order to put an end to it as well.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of domestic violence, contact the Raleigh domestic violence lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights.

Gaston County's current divorce rate is 59 percent- three percent more than North Carolina's 56 percent, and 9 percent higher than the national average of 50 percent.

Now, a delegation to the North Carolina General Assembly is asking Gaston County commissioners for a thirty-day waiting period before marriages are performed in the state, in which time couples are required to take premarital counseling.  The thirty-day period could only be waived with certification of prior premarital counseling.

The idea for the resolution initially came from the First Things First of Gaston County organization, according to State Representative Will Neumann, whose mission is "to bring better quality of life by strengthening families, specifically reducing divorce, out-of-wedlock births and the number of absent parents".

No bill has currently been introduced, but officials believe that what is now being proposed in Gaston County could easily spread state-wide. 

If you or someone you know is considering divorce, contact the Raleigh divorce lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights.

A recent study by Dr. Renee Boynton-Jarrett of Boston University's School of Medicine reveals a newfound link between family abuse and childhood obesity.

In the study, Boynton-Jarrett and her team observed 1,595 children born between the years 1998 and 2000.  Most children were from unwed parents.  The mothers of the children were interviewed from the child's birth up until the age of 5.  Moreover, the children's height and weight were measured at age 3 and age 5.  The study ended when every child had reached the age of 5.  At this point, 49.4 percent of children had been exposed to family violence, and 16.5 percent were considered obese.  Boynton-Jarrett and her team concluded that children whose mothers suffered chronic domestic violence were 80 percent more likely to become obese by the age of 5. 

In addition to the possibility of obesity, if children do become obese they also have a greater chance of suffering from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other illnesses later in life.  Boynton-Jarrett stated, "It's always sobering to see the vast impact that adversities in early life can have on long term health outcomes". 

If you or someone you love has been a victim of domestic violence, contact the Raleigh domestic violence lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights.

The recent announcement of Al, 62, and Tipper, 61, Gore's pending divorce is making marriage experts and psychologists take notice of the rising numbers in late-in-life divorces.

The pair have been married for forty years but experts expect their separate careers and busy lives contributed to them filing for divorce.  Furthermore, as late-in-life divorces have increased over the past few years, experts cite generational changes in the baby boomer generation.  Baby boomers, they believe, have more independent values and are more self-centered than previous generations.

The Office of National Statistics has stated that divorce rates are falling in all categories, except in the over 60 category.

Last year, Bertie and Jessie Woods made history as the world's oldest divorced couple, divorcing when both were 98.

If you are considering a divorce, contact the Raleigh divorce attorneys of Marshall & Taylor, P.C. today by calling 919-833-1040.