Fletcher v. Fletcher, 104 N.C. App. 225 (1991)

Oct. 1, 1991 · North Carolina Court of Appeals · No. 9014DC1282

104 N.C. App. 225

JAMES DOUGLAS FLETCHER, Plaintiff v. NORMA S. FLETCHER, Defendant

No. 9014DC1282

(Filed 1 October 1991)

Divorce and Separation § 70 (NCI4th) — separation for statutory period — wife’s health irrelevant

The trial court properly excluded evidence relating to defendant wife’s health and prospects for obtaining medical insurance in an action for divorce pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 50-6.

Am Jur 2d, Divorce and Separation §§ 147, 630.

APPEAL by defendant from judgment entered 15 October 1990 by Judge Kenneth C. Titus in DURHAM County District Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 28 August 1991.

Plaintiff and defendant married on 29 March 1974 and separated on 3 April 1987. The trial court entered a judgment of absolute divorce on 15 October 1990. From this judgment, defendant appeals.

William J. Thomas, II, for plaintiff-appellee.

Lewis & Anderson, P.C., by Susan H. Lewis and Robert Allen Monath, for defendant-appellant.

ARNOLD, Judge.

Defendant assigns error to the trial court’s exclusion of evidence relating to her health at the divorce hearing. The statutory requirements for divorce pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-6 (1987) are: (1) “the husband and wife have lived separate and apart for one year” and (2) the plaintiff or defendant “has resided in the State for a period of six months.” Defendant does not contest the trial court’s findings as to these requirements.

Defendant sought to introduce evidence of her health and her prospects for obtaining medical insurance following divorce. Such evidence, however, is not relevant to the trial court’s determination to grant or deny a divorce pursuant to G.S. § 50-6. N.C.R. Evid. 401. The trial court properly excluded this evidence.

Affirmed.

Chief Judge HEDRICK and Judge PHILLIPS concur.