Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina

Re: My Mother's Affair

You probably need to consult directly with an attorney as there are a lot of facts that would be necessary to answer the question. North Carolina does recognize the torts of Alienation of Affection and Criminal Conversation (which, in a nutshell means that yes, the "jilted" spouse can sue the lover in an affair), but it depends on when these event happened, where, and the rest.

The possibility exists, but a lot more details would need to be known to accurately analyze the situation.

Re: My Mother's Affair

Alienation of Affection is hard to win because you have to prove that genuine love and affection existed before the third party destroyed it.

Criminal conversation is much much easier to prove. You only have to prove a marriage existed between X & Y and that one of the spouses had sex with another person. The 3rd party can be sued.

Some jury awards have been as much as $250,000 for criminal conversation.

It is expensive to bring a suit like this so the risk to the third party (in this case your mom) is small unless she has assets that make it worthwhile.

We usually settle out of court with the third party when we have evidence of the sexual relationship. Third parties often don't want their dirty laundry out for the public to see...

As always, consult with an attorney so that she or he can obtain all the facts and advise you accordingly.

A third party waiver agreement sometimes built into a Separation Contract can protect the third party.

Our law firm prepares Separation Contracts with third party waivers through our Virtual Law Firm at www.RiceFamilyLaw.com for use by NC citizens.