This year’s campaign for Alamance County’s board of commissioners has coincided with another, more personal milestone for Democrat Sean C. Ewing.
In the midst of his ongoing bid to secure one of the two four-year terms that are available on the county’s governing board, Ewing has obtained an absolute divorce from his former wife Iza Reyes, whom he originally wed on June 12, 2021.
According to court records, Reyes initiated the divorce proceedings on January 7 of this year after nearly two years of separation from Ewing.
In her initial legal filing, Reyes asked the court for an “equitable distribution” of the couple’s marital property – and in particular, the home that they shared at 304 Stratford Drive in Mebane.
She went on to allege that Ewing has refused to convey her share in this dwelling since the pair had split up.
Ewing filed his own counterclaim on January 23 in which he denied any intransigence with respect to the marital home, where he continues to live.
Ewing pointed out that he purchased the home and began to pay off the mortgage before he married Reyes, and he has continued to make payments since the two separated.
Ewing ultimately asked the court to grant an “equitable distribution” of assets on terms that he favored rather than those that his ex would prefer.
After a court-ordered stretch of “financial” mediation, district court judge Craig Turner granted the couple an absolute divorce based on Ewing’s proposed terms for the distribution of assets. Turner issued a formal order on July 2 that formally designated the home to be Ewing’s “sole and separate property,” and he instructed Reyes to sign a warranty deed to convey her interest in the dwelling to her ex-husband.
In the meantime, Turner ordered Ewing to refinance his mortgage and cut a check to his ex for $96,400 to compensate her for her share of the marital assets.
Turner also issued specific instructions about items that Reyes had apparently left behind when she and Ewing split up. He gave Reyes sole ownership of a Toyota Prius that was, at the time, still parked at the former home. He also gave her permission to recover various possessions from a trailer behind the same residence.
These items, which Turner deemed to be the “sole and separate” property of Reyes, included a kayak, a bicycle, Christmas decorations that excluded some “Hallmark” décor, woodworking tools, a puzzle collection, a labradorite rock, and a bowl-backed mandolin.
Less than a month after Turner issued this order, Ewing asked the court to hold his ex in contempt for her alleged refusal to sign the aforementioned warranty deed.
He voluntarily dismissed this request on August 3, marking the final action in this absolute divorce.
