Alabama Divorce & Family Law Attorney Blog : Birmingham Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Eversole Law Firm : Serving Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile Alabama

Being a Birmingham divorce and family law attorney, I’ve seen the trouble that juveniles can get into. Sometimes it’s a serious crime, many times its just kids being kids. That doesn’t mean they should always be excused, but testing the limits of behavior is a natural part of growing up. As an Alabama lawyer who knows how youngsters think and act gives me the ability to defend them as juveniles whenever possible.

Most minors who become entangled with Alabama law enforcement are technically charged with committing a delinquent act -- but not a crime. Still a child convicted of juvenile delinquency can have a hard go of it in the future. If your juvenile son or daughter is charged with a crime, I strongly recommend that you seek the services of an attorney well versed in this area of the law.

A recent news report describes some teenagers who may have gone beyond mischief. As a family law and juvenile defense attorney, I’m familiar with defending individuals accused of delinquency and other criminal charges. Just some of the acts juveniles are arrested for include drug-related crimes, such as drug possession, sales and manufacturing; firearms charges, shoplifting and other theft crimes, vandalism and other property crimes; and occasionally serious or violent crimes.

According news reports, Madison County Sheriff's investigators and the Huntsville Police Department arrested three teenagers on the evening of August 25. They were accused of stealing a dozen cars, joyriding around Huntsville and then attempting to sell the stolen vehicles.

Investigator Brent Patterson said several teens apparently broke into the We Finance Auto Sales company on U.S. 231 N. in Hazel Green and stole keys to the dealership's vehicles. Police reports indicated that the youths shopped around the lot, drove a dozen of them away and abandoned them at several locations in Huntsville, mostly in the Council Court and Butler Terrace areas, Investigator Patterson said.

The Huntsville Police Department's north precinct helped the sheriff's department find some of the missing vehicles. The two agencies worked together to pull over two of the stolen cars, one on Joppa Circle and one on Knollbrook Drive. Officers chased a suspect briefly on Knollbrook before arresting him, Patterson said.

Investigators charged 18-year-old Tymane Demone Ford with receiving stolen property and third-degree burglary. He is being held in the Madison County Jail on a $4,000 bond. The second teen, Pierre Marquez Sims, 19, was charged with four counts of first-degree theft of property. He's being held on an $8,000 bond.

According to reports, investigators also arrested an unnamed juvenile who was sent to the Neaves-Davis Center for Children. At the time of the news article police had warrants out for several others they believe were involved.

3 teens arrested in car thefts, AL.com, August 27, 2009

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Alabama is a state that recognizes legal separation. As a Birmingham divorce attorney, a certain percentage of my clients typically ask about this option as an alternative to divorce. Legal separation, which is sometimes referred to as "judicial separation," "separate maintenance" or "divorce a mensa et thoro" (translation: "divorce from bed-and-board"), is way in which a married couple may legally formalize what can be a de facto separation while at the same time remaining legally married.

People choose legal separation for a number of reasons, but it usually is done if there is still some hope of saving the marriage, or if one or both of the parties (or even their families) have a moral or religious objection to divorce.

For the state of Alabama to recognize a legal separation, the parties 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

As implied above, a legal separation does not necessarily lead to a divorce. It does leave the door open to reconciliation, in which case the parties usually need not do anything more, as they are still legally married. If, however, the couple does not manage to find common ground, they may then wish to go through with a divorce, which must be filed for explicitly.

As an Alabama family law and divorce lawyer, I have handled many legal separations as well as helped cleints through divorces. The law can many times be complex and confusing. A qualified legal professional with experience in family law can be a great help when guiding people through the legal process during what can be a truly difficult and emotional time.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As a Birmingham divorce and family law attorney serving residents throughout Alabama, one of the most common question I am asked by folks is, “What are the legal grounds for divorce here in Alabama?” Another frequent question is, “What kind of residency requirement is needed to file for divorce in this state?” This last one is simple: One of the parties must be a bona fide resident of Alabama six months before the filing of the complaint.

As for the first question, legal grounds for divorce in Alabama can be determined by asking the following questions. Answering yes to any one of these will give you some idea as to whether or not you have grounds for divorce:

1. At the time of the marriage, was either party physically and incurably incapacitated from entering into the marriage state?
2. Was there adultery?
3. Did one of the parties voluntary abandon from bed and board one year prior to the filing of the complaint?
4. Was one of the spouses imprisoned in an Alabama of other state’s penitentiary for two years, with the sentence being for seven years or longer?
5. Did one party commit a crime against nature, whether with mankind or beast, either before or after marriage?
6. Was there an addiction to alcohol or drugs after the marriage?
7. Are the spouses incompatible?
8. Has one of the spouses been confined in a mental hospital for a period of five successive years, and as such is that party hopelessly and incurably insane at the time of the filing of the complaint?
9. Has there been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage where further attempts at reconciliation are impractical or futile and not in the best interests of the parties or the family?
10. Was the wife pregnant at the time of marriage, without the husband’s knowledge or agency? (In favor of the husband)
11. Has either of the parties to the marriage been subject to domestic violence or had reasonable apprehension of such violence?
12. Has the wife lived separate and apart from the bed and board of the husband for two years and been without support from him for two years next preceding the filing of the complaint, and has she bona fide resided in this state during said period? (In favor of the wife)

Many of these questions are easy to answer, however some are more difficult and require an experienced eye. As an Alabama divorce lawyer, my practice deals with these questions and numerous other issues on a daily basis. As with any legal question, I highly recommend that anyone contemplating divorce seek the counsel of a qualified divorce and family law attorney to learn more completely what his or her options may be in situations as sensitive as divorce and legal separation.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With an apparent trend lower in the divorce rate across the country and likely in Alabama as well, many couples might feel that cohabitation is a viable alternative to marriage. As a Birmingham family law and divorce attorney, I know the pitfalls of this kind of approach to a long-term relationship. When it comes to separation and divorce, one or both of the parties in a live-in relationship may think they are avoiding the complications associated with a traditional marriage, but you might be surprised to know that this may not be the case here in Alabama.

Certainly, it seems that on the surface cohabitation free one party from any legal responsibility to the other in cases where the relationship doesn’t work out and the two people part ways. However, Alabama is one of the few states that still recognizes common law marriage, which is defined roughly as a union between two people not formalized in the customary manner as prescribed by law but created by an agreement to marry followed by cohabitation.

Furthermore, cohabitating couples in Alabama may be shocked to learn that they could already be married in the eyes of the law, and with that, be affected by the same laws that pertain to other, legally married couples in terms of divorce, spousal and child support, division of property and other aspects of a divorce. Even if divorce is not the issue, there are other aspects that may be of particular importance to one or the other party, such as property ownership, rights of survivorship, spousal benefits, and other marital amenities.

Although common law marriage is prohibited in most parts of the United States, the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution requires all states that prohibit it to nonetheless recognize a common law marriage created in a jurisdiction that allows it, such as Alabama. In fact, the laws in all states require a common-law spouse to obtain a divorce before remarrying.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link