According to the CDC’s FastStats page, there were over 2.2 million marriages performed in the United States in 2018 and roughly 750,000 divorces. People from Alabama are more likely to be married than the rest of the country, and therefore are more likely to go through the divorce process at some point in their lifetime. Alabama is 16th in the country with a 12.3 divorce rate. The divorce process in Alabama is a relatively easy process, especially if the divorce is uncontested. However, there are some necessary details to cover.
Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce
A contested divorce happens when an agreement has not been reached by the parties. Uncontested means that both parties agree to the terms and are ready to move forward in the whole process. Uncontested divorces have to have several categories of information to agree upon, which will require mature and fair reasoning from both parties involved.
Fault vs. No-Fault
In order to file for an uncontested divorce in Alabama, you and your spouse need to agree on the financial terms, custody rights, child support, residencies and whether or not “fault” is an issue. Alabama recognizes both fault and no-fault divorces. No-fault grounds for divorce ensure a divorce can be had by anyone that wants one since you don’t have to prove “fault” by the other spouse.
No-fault grounds for divorce in Alabama are incompatibility, an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage or voluntary abandonment. In Alabama, fault grounds for divorce can be incapacitation from entering into the marriage state, adultery, imprisonment, habitual drunkenness or use of drugs, incurable insanity, pregnancy of the wife by another man at the time of marriage, domestic violence or abuse or living separate and apart from the other spouse for two years.
How to File for an Uncontested Divorce in Alabama
First, at least one spouse must be a resident of the state and the court selected to file the divorce in must have jurisdiction over at least one spouse. Then, the spouse filing the papers is called the Plaintiff and the spouse responding is known as the Defendant. The initial documents required to file are the Complaint and Summons documents which can be found at your county clerk’s office. These documents formally request a divorce from the Alabama state court. They outline the details of the terms of the divorce being requested like who gets what, spousal support, plus custody and child support.
The terms of your divorce will need to be put in writing. For an uncontested divorce in Alabama, you and your spouse should have terms agreed on for the division of shared property, assets and obligations to children. File your Divorce Settlement Agreement with your county clerk. You’ll give the original signed document to the clerk and keep two photocopies for your own records, giving one to your spouse if necessary.
Next, you serve your spouse the divorce petition papers. If an Acceptance and Waiver of Service document is signed by your spouse, you may hand deliver or mail the papers to your spouse. Otherwise, if that document is not signed, you’ll have to serve the documents in another fashion, such as certified mail with return receipt requested or hiring a sheriff, constable or private process server to serve the documents to your spouse. Then, you’ll show the court that you have served your spouse with their divorce papers.
Lastly, you and your spouse will need to complete any additional divorce forms like the Vital Statistics Form, Affidavit of Residency and Testimony of Plaintiff, plus any child support forms and statements or Standing Pre-Trial Orders. Your uncontested divorce is on its way to getting put through the system and the weight of its burden will be removed from you and your soon-to-be-former spouse.
How to File for a Contested Divorce in Alabama
Spouses that actually want an uncontested divorce initially can end up disagreeing with each other on specific issues that come into play during the process, and so the divorce becomes contested. Let’s go over what you need to do to file for a contested divorce in Alabama.
First off, you’ll need to file a complaint in the state court, naming your spouse and setting up a grounds for divorce. At this time, you’ll also ask the court to grant terms covering property division, alimony, custody of children and several other areas. This complaint must be delivered by a sheriff, certified mail or through an independent process server. Then, there’s a period of 30 days wherein your spouse must respond to the complaint and claims fully, usually through an attorney of their own. Your spouse’s attorney may also file a counterclaim against you at this time.
After that comes the discovery phase of the divorce process when your legal representatives complete their research supporting your legal position. This includes gathering evidence, obtaining documents, taking depositions and filing motions. Once the court has ruled on all motions, then both parties will begin to negotiate a settlement. Preferably, judges will want this done outside the courtroom and may offer the services of a mediator to revise the settlement. Once revisions are complete, they must be approved by the couple and judge so that the divorce can be finalized. In the case that an agreement can’t be reached, the proceedings will head to trial.
At trial, the judge will hear evidence and witnesses and rule on the various issues involved, including grounds for divorce, custody and child support, if applicable, fashion a property settlement dividing up the marriage’s assets, and rule on any alimony demand. Either spouse may file a Motion to Alter, Amend, or Vacate the judge’s order within 30 days of the ruling. Also, you or your spouse may choose to file an appeal of the judge’s ruling, which must be completed within 42 days of the judge’s original ruling or any motion filed thereafter.
Divorce can be a mess and, regardless if it’s contested or uncontested, you need responsible, experienced legal representation on your behalf. The Law Office of Jeffrey R. Sport provides a complete array of family law services to serve the diverse needs of its clients, including divorce, paternity, child custody and visitation, child support, decree modification, contempt petitions, termination of parental rights and other related services, in a dedicated and efficient manner. Our approach to family law is to protect the interests of any minor children involved and protect the safety and welfare of our clients and their children.
While a non-lawyer may represent himself or herself (called pro se representation) in obtaining a divorce or any of the other types of family law relief, we do not recommend proceeding without legal representation. Representing oneself is difficult because you will be expected to understand the law as well as legal procedures. Contact our office at 251-308-1001 to begin working through the process of getting divorced in Alabama.