Alabama Family Attorney Blog

The period of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas should be filled with happiness and peace in a perfect world. However, when a family has been split apart by divorce, the holidays are often filled with conflict and strife especially when it relates to Child Custody and Visitation. This is often one of the busiest times of the year for those of us who practice Family Law, simply because of all of the fighting that goes on.

In my experience, the best way to avoid this fighting is for the parties to all have the children's best interest in mind when planning for holiday custody and visitation arrangements. However, there are some former spouses who just can't seem to put their differences aside for even the best of reasons. In those cases, you need to have a custody and visitation schedule that specifically spells out what happens during the holidays.

In Alabama, it seems that almost every county has its own set of visitation schedules that the county calls "standard visitation." The purpose of a set "standard visitation" schedule is that the attorneys in a particular case don't have to reinvent the wheel for their clients. It serves as a good starting point in negotiations and it gives the attorneys an understanding of what the Judge would award if the case were to go to trial. Additionally, a standard visitation schedule allows the Judge to be more consistent when ruling on cases.

That being said, when negotiating a settlement between parties, there are often tweaks that we make to the visitation schedule so that each party feels like their specific needs can be met. Remember, once that schedule is adopted by the Court in your case, it becomes a Court Order and if you or the other party do something in violation of that Order, you can be held in Contempt of Court.

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The down U.S. economy has touched just about every aspect of the legal profession. There are statistics showing that crimes, especially thefts, have risen exponentially since our economy has taken the most recent downturn. In that same time frame, bankruptcies, both personal and business, have certainly been on the increase. The one area of my practice that has been hit especially hard by the economy is divorce.

If you are thinking about filing for divorce in Tuscaloosa or the surrounding areas, be prepared to run into delays because of the strain on the judicial system caused by the current budget crisis in Alabama. These delays are only getting longer, and that is especially troubling in cases where children are involved. Nothing about divorce is good for children, but the feeling of being in limbo while the divorce is pending is especially tough on them.

While I really don't see any change in the number of divorces personally, I'm sure that there have been some who have put it off for financial reasons. One thing I am seeing is that more couples seem to be trying do-it-yourself divorces at first. These "kit divorces" as I like to call them, seem to cause more trouble than they fix since I usually have to completely start over and the couple loses whatever money they spent on the kit. The biggest problem with the kits is that they may have state specific forms, but those forms don't always conform to the local rules and customs for every county in the state. These kits are especially difficult to use when the couple has children to consider.

I would advise anyone thinking about using one of those kits to speak with an experienced divorce attorney first. I would suggest further to those people that if they are able to agree on all of the issues of the divorce such as division of property, child custody, visitation, and support, an uncontested divorce drafted by an experienced divorce attorney is not that much more expensive than one of those internet kits. And the added peace of mind is especially valuable.

Continue reading "Tuscaloosa Divorces Affected by State Budget Crisis" »

Child custody disputes are becoming increasingly common and volatile. Often, one parent is unhappy with the court ordered visitation and/or child support and decides to make things difficult for the other parent. This can include tactics such as continual harassment intended to make the other parent make changes to the custody arrangement, threatening to take the issue back to court, and even kidnapping the child and refusing to abide by the court orders.

These types of situations are compounded when one parent has moved out of the state. Recently, I had an issue arise where the custodial parent had moved out of Alabama with the child and everything seemed to be going fine. The child came back to the state for a scheduled visit and then the non-custodial parent refused to return the child when the visit was over. Law enforcement authorities refused to get involved, calling it a "civil matter."

There are a few different options for the custodial parent in a situation like that one. That parent can file a petition for contempt against the non-custodial parent because of their failure to abide by the court order. However, it is imperative that the original court order be well written so that it is easy to show what is required of the parties. The custodial parent could also file charges against the non-custodial parent for interference with custody. This is a criminal charge that holds very severe consequences if the parent is found guilty. However, this route can be very slow and the damage may already be done to the child if the process takes months or years to reach a conclusion.

Continue reading "Alabama Child Custody Disputes " »