Posts by Steven B. Ockerman

As a father, you have certain rights regarding custody and visitation with your child. Although many people still hold on to the outdated belief that the state always sides with the biological mother of a child, this is no longer true. Both parents have equal rights to their children in the eyes of North Carolina…

First, a request; please don’t use a separation agreement from the internet. “Do-It-Yourself” legal documents, whether posted as templates or as samples by people that mean well, are not problem-solvers. They are problem-causers. We frequently see clients with separation agreements they believed were well-constructed and fit their particular situation, but in reality, the document was…

When you and your spouse divorce, your marital assets and debts will be divided between you. Often, the marital assets of greatest value are retirement plans, including pensions and profit-sharing plans such as 401(k)s. Unfortunately, dividing retirement assets is not usually as simple as transferring money from one account to another, or “cashing out” an…