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

A client called my office today seeking advice regarding a default judgment he received in Montgomery, Alabama divorce proceedings.  My client(Mr. X), received a default divorce judgment in Montgomery County after failing to respond to a divorce complaint within the required 30 day time period.  When you receive an Alabama divorce complaint, you only have thirty days to respond.  If you do not respond, a default judgment will be rendered against you.  This basically means that the pleadings in the divorce complaint are taken as true, and most times, the petitioner will get everything they seek in the divorce.  Thus, it is very important, if you wish contest any portion of the divorce complaint, that you respond within the time period allotted.

Fortunately, Mr X has recourse.  An intelligent Alabama Divorce Lawyer looks for any way he might be able to challenge the default judgment.  In this case, Mr. X did not receive notice of the divorce proceedings, and he has jurisdictional challenges as well.  Mr. X and his soon to be ex-wife, are military personnel and move around a lot.  Mr. X's ex, moved to Montgomery, Alabama from Indiana just two months after Mr. X filed for a divorce in Indiana.  Sneaky Mrs. X then filed for an Alabama divorce in Montgomery County after coming to Alabama and while the Indiana proceedings were underway.  Thus, an Alabama divorce court does not have jurisdiction over the divorce, and Mr. X can have the default judgment set aside on jurisdictional grounds.  Basically, the Alabama domestic relations or family law court, did not have the power to enter a judgment in this case.

Mr. X can also challenge the Alabama divorce judgment on grounds he did not receive notice of the divorce.  Every Alabama divorce petitioner must give notice of the divorce proceedings to the party they are trying to divorce.  If the divorce petitioner(the one who files the Alabama divorce complaint) does not give notice of the proceedings to the one they are trying to divorce, any divorce proceeding is invalid, and can be set aside. 

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Here at the Birmingham, Alabama Divorce and Family Law blog we have been following the trials and tribulations of Britney Spears as she engaged in a vicious custody battle with her ex-husband K-Fed.  Today, Britney lost her battle and lost custody of her children.  I pontificated in an earlier post that Britney would lose her kids if she continued to abuse alcohol and drugs, and she did.  This should be a warning to everyone going through an Alabama child custody dispute.  Do not give your ex-spouse ammunition in a child custody proceeding by taking alcohol or drugs. 

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In Alabama, when a divorce has been granted in favor of one party based upon the misconduct of the other party, the judge may grant awards from the estate of the spouse committing the misconduct to the other spouse.  The misconduct itself may also be used by the judge in determining the amount of the award.  However, this provision is subject to the marital property rule and/or the inheritance rule.  In general, property held by a party prior to the marriage, or property received by inheritance or gift,  is not marital property and cannot be distributed to the other party during a divorce.  Alabama Code Section 30-2-52 defines how a judge may award property after granting a divorce based upon misconduct.   

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My Alabama divorce law practice is focused upon making Alabama divorce as simple, and as affordable as possible.  Too many Alabama divorce lawyers seem to think that charging high fees makes them important.  My firm is different.  No matter where you are located, whether you live in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Cullman, Fultondale, Hueytown, Gardendale, Bessemer, Decatur, Guntersville, Scottsboro, Hoover, Pelham, Trussville, Moody, Leeds, Pell City, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook,  or whether you live in Jefferson County, Madison County, Montgomery County, Walker County, or Mobile County; my firm believes in providing the very best divorce and family law service at reasonable and affordable prices.  We offer several means of payment to make it easier to obtain high quality divorce and family law legal representation.  On top of our already competitive pricing, we accept major credit cards and will even work out payment plans.  Our goal is to be the best and most affordable divorce and family law lawyers and attorneys in Alabama.  If  you can find higher quality Alabama divorce or family law legal representation, at more affordable prices, you should hire them. 

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I am a Birmingham, Alabama divorce and family law attorney who represents clients in Jefferson County, Shelby County, Madison County, and throughout the state of Alabama in places like Vestavia Hills, Trussville, Mountain Brook, Hoover, Irondale, Homewood, Gardendale, Fultondale, Hueytown, Moody, Leeds, Pelham, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Montgomery, and Mobile.  My practice focuses on helping families with divorce and family law, child custody, visitation, adoption, alimony, child support, prenuptial agreements, divorce child psychology, divorce mediation and collaborative law. 

We work tirelessly to help your family make it through difficult times, and we are here 24/7 for our clients.  Just today, a client seeking a divorce from Birmingham, Alabama called me at 11:30 p.m. to mostly weep and vent about her husband's divorce tactics.  I listened patiently and tried my best to be more than her lawyer.  I want my firm to be a comfort during your most troubling times.  I believe that to be a good lawyer you have to be a good listener.  Sometimes that means taking the extra time with each client.  It can also mean not taking as many clients as you might otherwise.  I limit the number of cases I take at any one time in order to devote more of my time to you personally.  It may not be the best business strategy, but it is how I would want to be treated in similar circumstances, and I believe that giving a little more of yourself will not only help my clients, but in the long run, it will make me a better person, and make people speak well of me at my funeral.  I also try very hard to make quality divorce and family law representation affordable. 

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A Jefferson County, Birmingham, Alabama client asked an interesting question today.  How is child support calculated when your ex-spouse doesn't work, or has a sporadic work history?  Primarily, when calculating child support the court looks to the well being of the child.  And when awarding child support in this situation ,an Alabama court will impute an income to your ex-spouse, if the court finds he/she is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.  The court will estimate the unemployed or underemployed parents income, and impute that income to the spouse owing child support.  The court looks to past employment, employment potential, probable earning levels, education and job qualifications, as well as job opportunities and earning levels in the community.  The Alabama rules regarding child support can be found in the Child Support Guidelines Rule 32.

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I received a call from a client today in Birmingham, Alabama.  I realized people contemplating divorce across Jefferson County, including Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Leeds, Bessemer, Hoover, Pelham, Trussville, Gardendale, Fultondale, Fairfield, Moody, Pleasant Grove, Adamsville and Hueytown, as well as all across Alabama in places like Huntsville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Mobile, are all concerned about Alabama divorce laws. 

One of the most frequent questions I encounter about Alabama divorce laws, in Birmingham and all across the State of Alabama, and especially from women,  is "How do I support myself during the divorce?"  The answer is simple.  I will file a motion for Pendente Lite.  That motion will provide temporary support from your husband while you are going through a divorce.  This kind of support is very similar to alimony.  It allows you to continue living as you currently are while the Alabama divorce proceedings are under way.  Once the divorce is finalized you will then be eligible for alimony.  Alimony is intended to keep you relatively in the same economic position you are in during the marriage.  In that way, alimony and temporary support are very similar.  Both provide you with a means to continue your way of life for a period of time.  Motions for Pendente Lite only covers support during the divorce proceedings itself.  So, your husband or wife can't just kick you out of the house, cut off your credit cards, take the car, etc.

The Alabama Code Section 30-2-50 allows for this kind of temporary support pending the divorce action.  It provides for the allowance for support during the pendency of action.

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Not surprisingly, a divorce has significant consequences for children.  This site is devoted to helping parents deal with the ramifications of divorce.  It is not an option to, "stay together for the kids."  This kind of thinking only ends up hurting your children in the long run.  But we can do everything in our power to lessen the traumatic impact a divorce has on our kids.  Although many children go through their parents divorce with relatively few negative or permanent side effects, a divorce can be devastating for some children.  The changes in living arrangements, less time with one parent, etc, can be a harsh experience for some.  Based upon my experience, the best thing a parent can do to limit the negative impact a divorce has on their children is to act civilly towards your ex.  Some good rules of thumb are as follows:

• Do not argue in front of your kids in person or on the phone
• Actively pursue an amicable relationship with your ex
• Try not to bad mouth your ex in front of the kids
• Find support for you and your children
• Try to maintain your child's regular routine

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 Big divorce news in Atlanta.  Evangelist Juanita Bynum has had enough.  She filed papers seeking a divorce from her husband, Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III this past Monday, September 10, 2007.  According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, divorce papers accuse the Bishop of "beating, stomping and choking" his wife.  It is sad commentary on our times, that a supposed man of God, is being accused of domestic violence.  True or not, this kind of press is bad for the truly religious. If true, it is just another example of a con artist taking money in the guise of religion.  No true man of God(or any real-man for that matter) would ever put a hand to his wife.  That being said, it is not uncommon in divorce or child custody cases for one party, normally the wife, to accuse their spouse of some kind of domestic violence.  Accusing your spouse of domestic or child abuse can be an unscrupulous means to gain the advantage during divorce or custody proceedings. 

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DivorceSupport.com is a fantastic resource for people facing divorce.  The website has excellent Alabama divorce specific information.  They have articles on Alabama divorce, child support and child custody, residency requirements, grandparents rights and military divorce laws.  When you are going through a divorce you need as much information and support available.  My firm tries to provide you with the resources to make this process as simple as possible .  We also strive to give you all the information you need during these troubling times.  Knowing how the divorce or child custody process works will give you a certain amount of comfort.  I encourage my clients to learn as much as they can about their divorce and related issues.  The Internet is an amazing resource and should be used accordingly.

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The differences between mediation and collaborative law can be relatively minor.  Both mediation and collaborative law are alternative dispute resolution techniques that resolve a divorce without involving a court. Here is a link from divorcenet.com detailing the differences, advantages and disadvantages to both.  There is also some good information to aid in determining whether or not you would be a good candidate for the collaborative process.

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Joint Custody is preferred and deemed to be in the best interest of the child.  Alabama Code section 30-3-150 makes it state policy to encourage joint custody whenever both parents "have shown the ability to act in the best interests of their children." The court must consider joint custody, but is free to grant custody in any form it determines is in the best interest of the child.  The court looks to several factors when deciding to award joint custody: 

• The court looks at the parents wishes regarding joint custody
• The parents willingness and ability to work together and make decision in the best interest of the child
• Ability of each parent to foster the child's love for their ex
• Potential for any kind of abuse or kidnapping
• Distance between parents and practical geographic implications of joint custody
• The court may order a form of joint custody without the consent of both parents, when it is in the best interest of the child.

****When both parents request joint custody, joint custody is presumed to be in the best alternative.  Thus, in Alabama, joint custody is required unless the court makes specific findings as to why it is not.  Check out this helpful guide listing some Alabama Divorce and Custody code sections ,as well as other valuable divorce and child custody resources. 

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The Alabama "venue statute," sets out the proper county to file your Alabama divorce actions.  Venue is just a fancy lawyer word for the place you file divorce papers. The Code provides several methods to establish proper venue.  Proper venue can be established in one of three ways:

1. You may file your divorce papers in the county where your spouse resides.
2. In the county where you resided with your spouse at the time of separation.
3. Or, if your spouse is a non-resident, the county in which he/she resides.

When both parties are residents of Alabama, divorce complaints can be filed in either the county in which your spouse resides, or in the county where you both lived before the separation occurred. It is also possible to file in any county you want, if your spouse agrees. 

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