In North Carolina, support, custody, alimony and property do not have to be decided before the divorce is final. However, if you want to preserve your claim to alimony and equitable distribution, you need to file these claims with the court prior to the Judgment of Divorce is granted.

If the judge signs the divorce prior to you asserting either of these claims, you will be barred from later bringing these claims in front of a judge. Both equitable distribution and alimony do not have to be decided prior to a Judgment of Divorce, they merely have to be pending.