Alabama Divorce Statutes child custody and Support §30.3.150.

Joint Custody State Policy- It is the policy of this state to assure that minor children have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of their children and to encourage parents to share in the rights and responsibilities of rearing their children after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage. Joint custody does not necessarily mean equal physical custody.

Custody and education of children upon voluntary separation of husband and wife.

     (a) In all cases of voluntary separation of husband and wife, the circuit court has power, on the motion of either party, 20 days' notice thereof being given to the other, to permit either the father or mother to have the custody and control of the children and to superintend and direct their education, having regard to the prudence, ability and fitness of the parents, and the age and sex of the children.
     (b) Upon the hearing of the motion, witnesses may be examined orally or testimony may be taken as in other civil actions. While the application is pending, the court may direct an injunction or make any order that the safety and well-being of the wife or children may require.

Alabama Divorce Statutes Section 30-3-61 - Withholding order required in child support orders

     (a) Any provision of Section 8-5-21, to the contrary notwithstanding, any original decree, judgment, or order issued by a court of this state for the payment of support, any decree or judgment entered pursuant to a petition to modify an original decree or award of support, any decree or judgment of contempt of court for failure to pay support as previously ordered by a court of this state, or any decree or judgment for criminal or civil nonsupport shall include as a separate section a withholding order subject to subsection (c) of this section directing any employer of the obligor to withhold and pay over to the clerk of the court or the Department of Human Resources, or its designee, whichever is appropriate, out of income due or to become due the obligor at each pay period, an amount ordered to be paid for support. The withholding order shall not under any circumstances be waived by mutual agreement of the parties to the case.

     (b) The withholding order shall recite the amount of the obligor's continuing support obligation and shall require the withholding of the support obligation from the income due or becoming due to the obligor at each pay period and payment to the clerk of the court out of which the order is issued or the department or its designee, whichever is appropriate within seven business days of the date the obligor is paid the paycheck from which the support is withheld. Provided, if the obligor's support obligation is ordered to be paid monthly and the obligor's pay periods are at more frequent intervals, the employer may withhold at each pay period an amount cumulatively sufficient to equal the total monthly support obligation and pay the amount withheld at each pay period over to the clerk of the court or the department or its designee, within seven business days of the date the obligor is paid the paycheck from which the amount is withheld. The employer shall withhold the obligation amount as directed in the income withholding order, except that when an employer receives an income withholding order issued by another state, the employer shall apply the income withholding law of the state of the obligor's principal place of employment in determining the following:

(1) The employer's fee for processing an income withholding order.

(2) The maximum amount permitted to be withheld from an obligor's income.
(3) The time periods within which the employer is required to implement the income withholding order and forward the obligor's payment.
(4) The priorities for withholding and allocating income withheld for multiple child support obligees.
(5) Any withholding terms or conditions not specified in the order.

     (c) The withholding order shall also recite the duty of the obligor and the employer to notify the collecting agency of any change in employment or termination of income of the obligor as provided in this article.
     (d) A withholding order issued pursuant to this section shall be a continuing order and shall remain in effect and be binding upon any employer upon whom it is served until further order of the court. Where any order of support is entered or modified, the withholding order issued pursuant to this section shall be served immediately upon the obligor's employer and shall take effect immediately; except immediate withholding shall not be implemented in any case where one of the parties demonstrates, and the court finds, there is good cause not to require immediate income withholding, or a written agreement is reached between both parties which provides for an alternative arrangement. In such cases, income withholding shall be implemented if the absent parent fails to make payments in an amount equal to one month's support obligation, or the absent parent requests immediate withholding, or the payee or the department requests that withholding begin and the absent parent has failed to make a payment or payments on the date or dates due.
     (e) In the event the obligor becomes delinquent in the support payments in a dollar amount equal to one or more month's support obligation, or a withholding order entered at the request of the department was not immediately served upon the employer, or at such time as the obligor wishes to have the income withholding order served upon his employer, the obligee or the obligor may file with the clerk of the court a sworn affidavit stating the appropriate basis upon which service of the income withholding order is now being sought. Upon the filing of the affidavit and the payment of a docket fee in the same amount as is prescribed by Section 12-19-75 for the filing of a garnishment proceeding, a copy of the withholding order issued pursuant to this section shall be served upon the employer pursuant to the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. A copy shall be served upon the obligor by first class mail. Provided, the cost of the filing shall not be prepaid if, upon the filing of an affidavit of substantial hardship, the obligee or obligor is found by the court to be incapable of prepaying the cost or if the affidavit is filed by the department or a representative of the department, but in such cases the cost of the filing shall be taxed as costs against the obligor at the time service of the order is requested and shall be withheld from the obligor's first pay period subjected to the income withholding order. Additionally, when service upon the employer is requested by means of certified mail, the actual cost of the service shall be prepaid in all cases at the time the service is requested.
     (f) In the event that the obligor with a support obligation imposed by a support order issued or modified in the state before October 1, 1996, becomes delinquent in support payments in a dollar amount equal to one or more month's support obligation, the income of the obligor, if not otherwise subject to withholding, shall become subject to withholding, without the need for a judicial or administrative hearing.

Section 30-3-192 - Data match system; accounts encumbered or surrendered; reasonable fees; liability; disclosure of financial records; penalties.

Back to Top↑

Grounds for Divorce Alabama Divorce Statutes § 30-2-1

     (a) The circuit court has power to divorce persons from the bonds of matrimony, upon a complaint filed by one of the parties, entitled "In re: the marriage of ........................ and ........................," for the causes following:
(1) In favor of either party, when the other was, at the time of the marriage physically and incurably incapacitated from entering into the marriage state.
(2) For adultery.
(3) For voluntary abandonment from bed and board for one year next preceding the filing of the complaint.
(4) Imprisonment in the penitentiary of this or any other state for two years, the sentence being for seven years or longer.
(5) The commission of the crime against nature, whether with mankind or beast, either before or after marriage.
(6) For becoming addicted after marriage to habitual drunkenness or to habitual use of opium, morphine, cocaine or other like drug.
(7) Upon application of either the husband or wife, when the court is satisfied from all the testimony in the case that there exists such a complete incompatibility of temperament that the parties can no longer live together.
(8) In favor of either party, when the other, after marriage, shall have been confined in a mental hospital for a period of five successive years, if

Back to Top↑

Legal Separation. Alabama Divorce Statutes §30.2.40

     (a) The court shall enter a decree of legal separation if all of the following requirements are satisfied:
(1) The court determines that the jurisdictional requirements for the dissolution of a marriage have been met.
(2) The court determines the marriage is irretrievably broken or there exists a complete incompatibility of temperament or one or both of the parties desires to live separate and apart.
(3) To the extent that it has jurisdiction to do so, the court has considered, approved, or provided for child custody, and has entered an order for child support in compliance with Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration.
     (b) A legal separation is a court determination of the rights and responsibilities of a husband and wife arising out of the marital relationship. A decree of legal separation does not terminate the marital status of the parties.
     (c) If a party files a complaint for a decree of legal separation rather than a decree of dissolution of marriage, the court may grant the legal separation. The terms of a legal separation can be modified or dissolved only by written consent of both parties and ratification by the court or by court order upon proof of a material change of circumstances. A proceeding or judgment for legal separation shall not bar either party from later instituting an action for annulment or dissolution of the marriage.

     (d) The court shall order that the terms of the legal separation relating to alimony or a property settlement be incorporated into a final divorce decree only if agreed to by the parties. Otherwise, the court may consider, but is not bound by, the provisions of the legal separation relating to alimony or a property settlement upon a final dissolution of the marriage.
     (e) If either party to a legal separation later institutes an action for dissolution of the marriage, the best interest of the child standard shall apply to the determination of child custody.
     (f) Upon written consent by both parties, after entry of a decree of legal separation, all of the following provisions shall apply:
(1) The earnings or accumulations, including the retirement benefits, of each party received after the entry of the decree of legal separation are the separate property of the party acquiring the earnings or accumulations, and shall not be considered by the court in a subsequent divorce action.
(2) A spouse may convey his or her real estate without the signature or consent of the other spouse. (3) Each spouse may waive all rights to inheritance from the other spouse pursuant to Section 43-8-72.
     (g) Court costs for a legal separation may be assessed as if a dissolution of the marriage was requested and may be taxed by the court accordingly.

Back to Top↑

Alabama Divorce Statutes Residency §30.2.5.

When the defendant is a nonresident, the other party to the marriage must have been a bona fide resident of this state for six months next before the filing of the complaint, which must be alleged in the complaint and proved.

Alabama Divorce Statutes Section 30-2-4 Where complaint to be filed

Complaints for divorce may be filed in the circuit court of the county in which the defendant resides, or in the circuit court of the county in which the parties resided when the separation occurred, or if the defendant is a nonresident, then in the circuit court of the county in which the other party to the marriage resides.

Back to Top↑

Alabama Divorce Statutes Waiting Period §Section 30-2-8.1

Waiting period prior to issuance of final judgment of divorce; temporary orders prior to expiration of waiting period.

     (a) A court shall not enter a final judgment of divorce until after the expiration of 30 days from the date of the filing of the summons and complaint.
     (b) This section shall not restrict the power of the court to enter any temporary orders necessary prior to the expiration of the waiting period. The temporary orders may include, but shall not be limited to, temporary orders on

Back to Top↑

custody, spousal or child support, visitation, exclusive occupancy of the marital residence, or restraining the parties.

Section 30-2-10 - Sixty-day restriction on remarriage of parties after grant of divorce or pending appeal of divorce.

When a judgment has been entered granting a divorce in this state, the court shall order that neither party shall again marry, except to each other, until 60 days after the judgment is entered, and that if an appeal is taken within 60 days, neither party shall again marry, except to each other, during the pendency of said appeal.

Alabama Divorce Statutes Alimony. Spousal Support §30.2.50

Pending an action for divorce, the court may make an allowance for the support of either spouse out of the estate of the other spouse, suitable to the spouse's estate and the condition in life of the parties, for a period of time not longer than necessary for the prosecution of the complaint for divorce.

Section §30-2-51 - Allowance upon grant of divorce; certain property not considered; retirement benefits.

     (a) If either spouse has no separate estate or if it is insufficient for the maintenance of a spouse, the judge, upon granting a divorce, at his or her discretion, may order to a spouse an allowance out of the estate of the other spouse, taking into consideration the value thereof and the condition of the spouse's family. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the judge may not take into consideration any property acquired prior to the marriage of the parties or by inheritance or gift unless the judge finds from the evidence that the property, or income produced by the property, has been used regularly for the common benefit of the parties during their marriage.
     (b) The judge, at his or her discretion, may include in the estate of either spouse the present value of any future or current retirement benefits, that a spouse may have a vested interest in or may be receiving on the date the action for divorce is filed, provided that the following conditions are met:
(1) The parties have been married for a period of 10 years during which the retirement was being accumulated.

(2) The court shall not include in the estate the value of any retirement benefits acquired prior to the marriage including any interest or appreciation of the benefits.
(3) The total amount of the retirement benefits payable to the non-covered spouse shall not exceed 50 percent of the retirement benefits that may be considered by the court.
     (c) If the court finds in its discretion that any of the covered spouse's retirement benefits should be distributed to the non-covered spouse, the amount is not payable to the non-covered spouse until the covered spouse begins to receive his or her retirement benefits or reaches the age of 65 years, unless both parties agree to a lump sum settlement of the non-covered spouse's benefits payable in one or more installments.

Section 30-2-55 - Termination of alimony upon remarriage or cohabitation with member of opposite sex; reimbursement not required.

Any decree of divorce providing for periodic payments of alimony shall be modified by the court to provide for the termination of such alimony upon petition of a party to the decree and proof that the spouse receiving such alimony has remarried or that such spouse is living openly or cohabiting with a member of the opposite sex. This provision shall be applicable to any person granted a decree of divorce either prior to April 28, 1978, or thereafter; provided, however, that no payments of alimony already received shall have to be reimbursed.

Back to Top↑

Alabama Divorce Statutes Grandparent Visitation. §30.3.4.1

     (a) For the purposes of this section, the term "grandparent" means the parent of a parent of a minor child, the parent of a minor child's parent who has died, or the parent of a minor child's parent whose parental rights have been terminated when the child has been adopted pursuant to Section 26-10A-27, 26-10A-28, or 26-10A-30, dealing with stepparent and relative adoption.
     (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any grandparent may file an original action for visitation rights to a minor child if it is in the best interest of the minor child and one of the following conditions exist:
(1) When one or both parents of the child are deceased.
(2) When the marriage of the parents of the child has been dissolved.
(3) When a parent of the child has abandoned the minor.
(4) When the child was born out of wedlock.
(5) When the child is living with both biological parents, who are still married to each other, whether or not there is a broken relationship between either or both parents of the minor and the grandparent and either or both parents have used their parental authority to prohibit a relationship between the child and the grandparent.
     (c) Any grandparent may intervene in and seek to obtain visitation rights in any action when any court in this state has before it any question concerning the custody of a minor child, a divorce proceeding of the parents or a parent of the minor child, or a termination of the parental rights proceeding of either parent of the minor child, provided the termination of parental rights is for the purpose of adoption pursuant to Sections 26-10A-27, 26-10A-28, or 26-10A-30, dealing with stepparent or relative adoption.
     (d) Upon the filing of an original action or upon intervention in an existing proceeding pursuant to subsections (b) and (c), the court shall determine if visitation by the grandparent is in the best interests of the child. Visitation shall not be granted if the visitation would endanger the physical health of the child or impair the emotional development of

Back to Top↑

Alabama Divorce Statutes Visitation

Language required in child custody determination. After September 1, 2003, every child custody determination shall include the following language: "Alabama law requires each party in this action who has either custody of or the right of visitation with a child to notify other parties who have custody of or the right of visitation with the child of any change in his or her address or telephone number, or both, and of any change or proposed change of principal residence and telephone number or numbers of a child. This is a continuing duty and remains in effect as to each child subject to the custody or visitation provisions of this decree until such child reaches the age of majority or becomes emancipated and for so long as you are entitled to custody of or visitation with a child covered by this order. If there is to be a change of principal residence by you or by a child subject to the custody or visitation provisions of this order, you must provide the following information to each other person who has custody or visitation rights under this decree as follows:      (1) The intended new residence, including the specific street address, if known.
     (2) The mailing address, if not the same as the street address.
     (3) The telephone number or numbers at such residence, if known.
     (4) If applicable, the name, address, and telephone number of the school to be attended by the child, if known.

Back to Top↑