When Wealth Doesn’t Bar Alimony in North Carolina

Can a spouse with a law degree, multiple bar licenses, and a seven-figure estate still get alimony in North Carolina?

Can a wealthy, well-educated spouse still qualify for alimony in North Carolina? Alimony in North Carolina depends on dependency and need, not just income or assets. Courts look at whether one spouse relies on the other for support and whether an award is equitable under the circumstances.

According to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, that principle was tested in Allport v. Allport (COA24-369, filed November 5, 2025). The Court upheld a permanent alimony award of $14,767.52 per month to a wife who had three degrees, three bar memberships, and an estate worth several million dollars. Her husband, a physician, argued that she could support herself and that the judge was punishing him for an affair. The appellate court disagreed, reaffirming how North Carolina law defines dependency and fairness in alimony cases.

Navigating separation or divorce in Lincoln County? It’s smart to talk with an experienced Lincolnton divorce lawyer who understands how North Carolina courts evaluate dependency and support. Meredith Shuford and the family law team at Teddy, Meekins & Talbert represent clients in Lincoln County and across western North Carolina in matters involving alimony, property division, and postseparation support. You can learn more or schedule a confidential consultation.

If you are going through a separation or divorce, the Allport case matters because it shows how North Carolina judges look at dependency, earning capacity, retirement assets, and marital misconduct when deciding alimony.

Understanding Alimony in North Carolina

Before getting into the case, it helps to know the framework.

To receive alimony in North Carolina, the court must find that:

• You are a dependent spouse,
• Your ex is a supporting spouse, and
• An award of alimony is equitable after considering the statutory factors.

See N.C.G.S. §§ 50-16.1A(2), 50-16.1A(5), 50-16.3A(a).

A dependent spouse is not just someone with no income. The statute defines a dependent spouse as someone who is “actually substantially dependent” on the other spouse for support or “substantially in need of maintenance and support” from the other spouse. A supporting spouse is the one who has the ability to provide that support.

Once the court decides who is dependent and who is supporting, it sets the amount and duration of alimony by weighing many factors, including:

• Marital misconduct
• Relative earnings and earning capacities
• Ages and health of the spouses
• Sources of income, including retirement and Social Security
• Length of the marriage
• Standard of living during the marriage
• Assets and debts of each spouse

See N.C.G.S. § 50-16.3A(b).

Allport v. Allport: Alimony in North Carolina

In Allport, the couple met overseas in the 1980s, married in 1989, and stayed married for over 25 years. During the early years, the wife worked as a lawyer while the husband completed medical school, residency, and a fellowship. She passed multiple bar exams and was the primary breadwinner while he trained.

What is Alimony?

Once the husband’s medical career took off, the family moved to North Carolina.

Over time, they built a very high standard of living:

• Large mountain and lakefront homes
• Luxury vehicles, a boat, and a jet ski
• Country club and fitness club memberships
• Vacations that often exceeded $50,000 per year
• Regular retirement savings as a specific “expense” in their budget

Eventually, the parties agreed that the wife would leave the workforce and become a full-time stay-at-home spouse and parent.

Years later, the husband began a secret relationship with a nurse. The affair lasted about three years. After the wife discovered text messages, the parties separated. The husband later married the nurse.

The trial court first entered a substantial postseparation support (PSS) order.

After a later hearing on permanent alimony, the court:

• Found that the wife was a dependent spouse and the husband a supporting spouse.
• Found that the husband had significant income as a gastroenterologist and still enjoyed a monthly surplus after his own expenses.
• Found that the wife had some assets and investment income, but could not meet her reasonable needs on her own without depleting her estate.
• Ordered permanent alimony of $14,767.52 per month until death, remarriage, or cohabitation, consistent with N.C.G.S. § 50-16.9(b).

The husband appealed, arguing that the wife’s estate and education should disqualify her from alimony and that the judge failed to properly account for her potential income.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the alimony award.

Can a Wealthy Spouse be a “Dependent Spouse?”

You may wonder how a person with a multi-million-dollar estate and several degrees can be considered “dependent.”

The Allport decision explains why.

1. The focus is on income and reasonable needs:

• The appellate court stressed that alimony is based on actual income and reasonable monthly expenses, not simply on how much property a person owns. The wife had investment income of about $1,991 per month from a non-retirement brokerage account. The court found her reasonable monthly expenses, based on the marital lifestyle, were about $16,758.80.

Without alimony, she would have to spend down her assets to cover that gap. The court noted that estate depletion is not the goal of alimony law. The purpose is to help the dependent spouse maintain, as nearly as possible, the marital standard of living, not to force that spouse to consume retirement accounts or savings just to get by. Williams v. Williams, 299 N.C. 174, 261 S.E.2d 849 (1980).

2. Retirement accounts are not automatically treated as current income:

• The husband argued that the court should treat income that could be drawn from the wife’s IRA and potential Social Security benefits as part of her current income. His financial expert projected hypothetical monthly numbers if she began taking early withdrawals.

The trial judge heard that evidence and expressly found “no credible evidence” that the wife had depressed her income in bad faith or that income should be imputed to her. The Court of Appeals respected that finding. Under North Carolina law, a court generally uses actual income at the time of the order, unless there is proof that a spouse is intentionally depressing income in bad faith. Works v. Works, 217 N.C. App. 345, 719 S.E.2d 218 (2011).

In other words, the wife was not required to start raiding her IRA or elect early Social Security just to reduce the husband’s support obligation.

3. Earning capacity is limited by age and work history:

• Although the wife had strong credentials, she had been out of the full-time legal workforce since 2009, except for a brief nine-month stint several years earlier. The court found that, at age 63, with an inactive law license and significant caregiving and health history, she did not realistically have the ability to reenter legal practice and support herself at the marital standard of living.

For a court to impute income based on earning capacity, it must find bad faith, such as intentionally refusing to work to increase alimony. Walton v. Walton, 263 N.C. App. 380, 822 S.E.2d 780 (2018). The trial court found no such bad faith.

Getting Help with Alimony in North Carolina: Lincolnton Lawyers

If you are facing separation or divorce and you either relied on your spouse’s income or you are the higher earner worried about exposure to alimony, you do not have to guess how these rules will apply to you.

Teddy, Meekins & Talbert, P.L.L.C., in Lincolnton, represents people in Lincoln County and throughout the surrounding region in North Carolina family law matters, including alimony, property division, and postseparation support. The attorneys at Teddy, Meekins & Talbert would be honored to review your finances, explain how the dependent and supporting spouse rules work under N.C.G.S. §§ 50-16.1A and 50-16.3A, and help you prepare a strategy that protects your future.

How Courts Decide the Amount and Duration of Alimony in North Carolina

In Allport, the Court of Appeals emphasized that the trial judge went through each of the statutory factors in N.C.G.S. § 50-16.3A(b) and made detailed findings. A few points are especially important to consider:

Marital misconduct and “illicit sexual behavior”

North Carolina treats “illicit sexual behavior” differently from other types of misconduct. If the supporting spouse (the higher earner) engaged in illicit sexual behavior before or on the date of separation, the court must award alimony to the dependent spouse if the other requirements are met. See N.C.G.S. § 50-16.3A(a).

In Allport, the husband’s multi-year affair with a nurse was well documented. The trial court found this conduct to be “especially egregious” and correctly treated it as a mandatory basis to award alimony.

Standard of living during the marriage

The court carefully reviewed what life actually looked like during the marriage: multiple homes, international travel, country club memberships, a personal trainer, an au pair, and consistent retirement savings. That lifestyle was made possible by the husband’s substantial income.

The appellate court agreed that the wife was entitled, within reason, to continue living at a level similar to “the wife of a wealthy man,” not to be reduced to a bare-bones survival budget after decades of marriage.

Amount and duration

After subtracting the husband’s reasonable expenses (including his own retirement contributions and obligations for his new household), the court still found a significant surplus of income each month.

The judge set permanent alimony at $14,767.52 per month, payable until death, remarriage, or cohabitation as described in N.C.G.S. § 50-16.9(b). The Court of Appeals found no abuse of discretion, in part because the order contained extensive findings explaining the parties’ incomes, expenses, and circumstances.

If future circumstances change, either party can later seek a modification under N.C.G.S. § 50-16.9(a) by showing a substantial change.

Key Takeaways from Allport v. Allport

Here are some practical takeaways from Allport v. Allport:

• Having assets does not automatically bar you from alimony. Courts look at your ability to meet reasonable needs without depleting your estate, not just at your net worth.
• Education and past work history are only part of the picture. Age, time out of the workforce, health, and realistic job prospects all matter when the court considers earning capacity.
• Retirement accounts are treated carefully. Income that could be withdrawn from an IRA or 401(k) is not automatically counted as current income, especially if you have not been drawing from it and there is no bad faith.
• Marital misconduct can be decisive. If a supporting spouse engaged in illicit sexual behavior, alimony may be mandatory under N.C.G.S. § 50-16.3A(a).
• Detailed financial evidence is critical. The trial court in Allport heard four full days of testimony and reviewed extensive records. Your financial affidavit, expert testimony, and documentation can significantly affect the outcome.

Alimony in North Carolina: Lincoln County Divorce Lawyers

Alimony decisions are fact-intensive and highly dependent on careful presentation of your finances and history. Cases like Allport v. Allport show that North Carolina courts look far beyond labels like “wealthy spouse” or “educated professional.”

If you are worried about how alimony might affect your separation or divorce, or you believe you may be entitled to support, you should talk with a lawyer who regularly handles these issues in North Carolina courts.