Educational Blog

A parental alienation book sitting on a judge’s desk. | New Direction Family Law

Episode 37 – Understanding Parental Alienation

Podcast
Ex-It Strategy Podcast Episode 37 Listen Now Apple | Spotify Hosts/Participants: Elizabeth Stephenson and Sarah Hink Guest Dr. Julianne Ludlam, PhD, Clinical Psychologist at KKJ Forensic and Psychological Services Elizabeth: Hi everyone. It’s Elizabeth Stephenson with New Direction Family Law.…
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Man in dark room staring intensely.| New Direction Family Law

Episode 48 – Divorcing a Sociopath

Separation & Divorce
Ex-It Strategy Podcast Episode 47 Hosts/Participants: Elizabeth Stephenson, Sarah Hink, Jen Bordeaux Guest: Kerrie Droban Elizabeth: Hi everyone. It’s Elizabeth Stephenson with New Direction Family Law.  Sarah: And I’m Elizabeth’s partner, Sarah Hink, attorney at New Direction Family Law. And…
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Checking wallet for alimony payment money | New Direction Family Law

Do Alimony Payments Ever End?

Separation & DivorceWealth
Alimony, also referred to as spousal support, constitutes a legal obligation where a dependent spouse receives periodic payments from the supporting spouse following their separation or divorce. This financial arrangement can emerge as a substantial and often complex obligation for…
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Bride hugging a person in a tuxedo | New Direction Family Law

Marriage Advice from Divorce Attorneys

PodcastRelationships
Ex-It Strategy Podcast Episode 14 Hosts/Participants: Elizabeth Stephenson, Sarah Hink, and Jen Bordeaux Elizabeth: Hi everyone, I’m Elizabeth Stephenson.  Sarah: And I’m Sarah Hink. Thank you for joining us today. We are going to talk about a topic that most…
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Woman-Comforting-Child | New Direction Family Law

Episode 49 – How to Talk to Your Children About Divorce

Podcast
Ex-It Strategy Podcast Episode 47 Hosts/Participants: Elizabeth Stephenson, Sarah Hink, and Dr. Lindsey Ohler, Psy.D. Elizabeth: Hi everyone, I’m Elizabeth Stephenson with New Direction Family Law.  Sarah: And I’m Elizabeth’s law partner, Sarah Hink. Thank you for joining us today.…
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Shadowy black and white figure standing in a room | New Direction Family Law

Episode 47 – I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me

Podcast
Ex-It Strategy Podcast Episode 47 Hosts/Participants: Elizabeth Stephenson, Sarah Hink, Ashley Oldham, Jen Bordeaux Elizabeth: Hi, everyone, it’s Elizabeth Stephenson.  Sarah: And Sarah Hink. And also, Ashley Oldham over there.  Elizabeth: We have three legal minds here today.  Sarah: Three…
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Woman hugging a child amidst moving boxes. | New Direction Family Law

Relocation Relocation Relocation

Child CustodyPodcast
Ex-It StrategyPodcast 45 Hosts/Participants  Elizabeth Stephenson, Sarah Hink, Jen Bordeaux   Elizabeth: Hello everyone. I’m Elizabeth Stephenson with New Direction Family Law.  Sarah: And I’m Sarah Hink, Elizabeth’s law partner and we are so happy to be here with you…
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Illicit Sexual Beavior | Ex-It Strategy

Illicit Sexual Behavior

PodcastSeparation & Divorce
Ex-It Strategy Podcast 3 Hosts/Participants Elizabeth Stephenson, Sarah Hink You can listen to this episode of Ex-It Strategy on Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher Elizabeth: Hi everyone. Sarah and I are back. I’m Elizabeth Stephenson. Sarah: And I’m…
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Pros and Cons of Getting a Prenup

Pros and Cons of Getting a Prenup

Separation & Divorce
If you’re getting married, you might be considering a prenuptial agreement, or a prenup. Many couples complete a prenup to achieve security and peace of mind around their assets and debts before marriage. A prenup clearly defines what will happen…
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Parenting Plans in Child Custody Cases

Parenting Plans in Child Custody Cases

Child Custody
Co-parents involved in child custody cases may agree to parenting plans. A parenting plan is an agreement between parents of a child that discusses their rights and responsibilities moving forward. Parenting plans are common when couples who have a child…
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Holiday Visitation and Co-Parenting

Child Custody
Thanksgiving and Christmas are approaching fast. This is a stressful time for many people, as it means navigating COVID-19 while trying to have some semblance of normalcy with family. When parents of minor children are separated, the holidays take on…
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Divorces on the Rise During COVID-19

Separation & Divorce
We are now over half a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tested many relationships. With family members in an unsolicited, prolonged situation of physical proximity with each other, family lawyers are getting more questions about getting divorced. COVID-19…
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Legal Custody for North Carolina Parents

Child Custody
Legal Custody versus Physical Custody In North Carolina, a parent’s rights are divided into two categories of custody: physical custody and legal custody. When most people think of “custody”, they generally think of the right to possession of the children:…
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How Separate Property Works

Separation & Divorce
When a marriage ends, property division is an enormous issue that a couple must address to protect their rights and secure their financial future. Classifying and appraising property is no small task and the law can be complex. No matter…
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Equitable Distribution: What You Need to Know

Uncategorized
For divorcing couples, understanding how property division works can help spouses exercise their legal rights and guide critical decisions for their financial futures. When a marriage ends in North Carolina, the property is divided by equitable distribution. This is a…
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How Temporary Orders Work

Uncategorized
Temporary Orders are orders addressing immediate needs before a final order is entered in a case. They can provide stability and guidance while a legal matter is pending. In the context of family law cases, courts have broad discretion to…
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Self-Care During COVID-19

HealthLifestyle
With economies reopening sporadically across the country amid COVID-19, many people are facing difficult choices moving forward. There is a challenging balance that we must each weigh between safety, employment, and living freely. This stressful choice comes during months of…
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North Carolina’s Alimony Laws

Separation & Divorce
Alimony, or spousal support, is usually awarded as payments made following a separation or divorce from a “supporting spouse” to a “dependent spouse” for a fixed duration of time. As you can imagine, this is a great source of controversy…
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Spying, Harassment, and Divorce

Separation & Divorce
Separations are hardly ever clean. However, when a marital relationship has issues of control or domestic violence, a separation can dramatically escalating these issues. New Direction Family Law has helped domestic violence survivors for years, and sadly, we have had…
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Essential Details in a Child Custody Order

Child Custody
The separation announcement of actors Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan last year stunned many fans of the Hollywood couple, who had bought into the blissful image they had curated through years of Instagram posts and entertainment interviews. While the two…
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The Basics of Child Support in North Carolina

The Basics of Child Support in North Carolina

Child Support
Child support consists of court-ordered payments designed to cover the “reasonable needs” of children for their “health, education, and maintenance.” The issue is can be a heated one—not so much because parents don’t want to meet their children’s needs, but…
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Steps to Prepare for Your Divorce

Steps to Prepare for Your Divorce

Separation & Divorce
The prospect of ending a marriage is rife with feelings of uncertainty, fear, and discomfort. It is a major life shift and undeniable trauma. However, there are ways to feel more comfortable and confident leading into the divorce process. Some…
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Social Media, Divorce, and Child Custody

Social Media, Divorce, and Child Custody

Child Custody
YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter–Social media has created an era where people have become incredibly public in the way they express their opinions and what happens in their daily lives. Whether they film YouTube confessional videos, live stream their evenings,…
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Alimony and a New Partner

Alimony and a New Partner

Separation & DivorceWealth
Alimony payments are intended to financially support dependent spouses after a marriage has ended. These payments recognize the duration of a couple’s marriage, their marital standard of living, the disparity in wealth and opportunity between the spouses, and the numerous…
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Supporting a Struggling Child

Supporting a Struggling Child

Parenting
As difficult as divorce and child custody issues can be for parents, it is worse for their children. Even if they had witnessed arguments and tension between their parents, they still had the stability of living under the same roof…
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Educating Your Children During the Summer

Educating Your Children During the Summer

Parenting
The “summer slide” is a phenomenon that refers to the educational regression that children experience when they are away from school during their summer breaks. A lot of education is about structure and repetition. Despite parents’ best efforts, many children…
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Summer Family Fun on a Budget

Summer Family Fun on a Budget

Parenting
The school year is pretty predictable when budgeting for your children’s education. If your child is in public school, the tuition is paid for by your taxes, while you know you will be responsible for supplies, food, extracurricular activities, and…
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Preparing Your Children For College

Preparing Your Children For College

Child CustodyParenting
By now, you are likely familiar with the college cheating scandal that has engulfed many top tier universities across the country. Labeled “Operation Varsity Blues” by federal investigators, many wealthy parents were caught paying large sums of money to a…
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Rediscovering the Joys of Parks

Rediscovering the Joys of Parks

LifestyleParenting
As technology has evolved over the last several decades, it seems that each generation of kids spends less time outside than the previous one. If you think about it, from the time that the Nintendo Entertainment System brought arcades into…
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Living a Greener Lifestyle

Living a Greener Lifestyle

HealthLifestyle
There should be no question that adults have a duty to strive for their children to have better lives and more opportunities than the preceding generation. This generally means that adults work hard to give their children the chance to…
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Helping Your Teen Through Dating Violence

Helping Your Teen Through Dating Violence

Domestic Violence
Domestic violence isn’t just a problem that affects adult relationships, it also exists in teen relationships and is considered by the Center for Disease Control to be widespread. This is a difficult situation for parents, since it comes at a time when kids want…
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Creating an Emergency Plan for Your Family

Creating an Emergency Plan for Your Family

Health
While it is unpleasant to think about, we are sometimes faced with dangers that are out of our control, such as natural disasters, car accidents, medical emergencies, property damage, or crime. The entire idea of an emergency is that it…
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A New Year Doesn’t Require Big Changes

A New Year Doesn’t Require Big Changes

HealthLifestyle
Have you ever noticed that whenever a new year rolls around, there are non-stop television, radio, and internet ads for gym memberships? Or that your physical and email mailboxes are filled with “exciting limited offers” on expensive trend diets and…
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Thinking About Materialism

Thinking About Materialism

LifestyleWealth
In the past few years, Japanese author Marie Kondo has authored numerous worldwide bestselling books, like Spark Joy and Life-Changing Magic: A Journal. These books present Kondo’s multi-step method of tidying up and de-cluttering your space, which have amassed her a huge and…
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Anti Stalking Laws in North Carolina

Anti Stalking Laws in North Carolina

Lifestyle
Stalking is terrifying, dangerous, and sometimes deadly for victims. Beyond the invasion of privacy, stalking creates a virtual prison and constant threat for a person—leaving lasting psychological damage. Because of the emotional trauma, extreme danger, and the “strong connections” between…
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