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

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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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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Alabama Courts have wide discretion in child custody cases.  A child becomes a ward of the court in custody proceedings, and any matter affecting the child is a concern of the court. 

In Ex parte Divine , the Alabama Supreme Court enumerated twelve factors to be considered when deciding what is in the best interest of child in custody proceedings:

• Sex and age of the child
• Emotional, social, moral, material and educational needs of each child
• Home environments offered by each parent
• Parents age, character, stability, mental and physical health
• Parents capacity and interest in providing for the emotional, social, etc., needs of child
• Relationship between each child and each parent
• Relationship between children
• Effect on child of disrupting or continuing an existing custodial status
• Preference of child, if the child is of sufficient age and maturity
• Recommendations of experts
• Any available alternatives
• Any relevant matter

Past performance is often crucial in determining custody.  However, a spouse's prior performance may not be an accurate portrait of their future performance once the realities of a divorce are present.  A spouse who used to work at home taking care of the kids, may not be able to stay home full-time once the divorce is final.  Their financial situation, time constraints and other realities have changed.

Thus, a court has the ultimate power in determining how your children are raised in a custody proceeding. This is just one more reason why my firm advocates divorce mediation and collaborative legal processes whenever possible.  You should be the ones determining your child's best interest, not the courts. 

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