Alabama

Divorce Residency Requirements To Get Divorce In Alabama

To file for divorce in Alabama, you must meet one of the following requirements:

If both parties or just the defendant resides in Alabama, all residency requirements are met. If the defendant does not live in Alabama, but the filing spouse lives in Alabama, then he or she must have been a resident of the state for a period of at least six months.

Reasons For Divorce In Alabama

The most common ground for divorce in the state of Alabama is an incompatibility in an irretrievable breakdown of a marriage.

The other grounds allowed within the state do require proof or additional testimony. These grounds include either party having been physically or mentally incapacitated and unable to enter into the marriage state, adultery, voluntary abandonment from bed and board for one year, and imprisonment in a penitentiary for two years. Grounds may also include commission of a crime against nature, mankind or beast, addiction to habitual drunkenness or use of opium, morphine, cocaine or other like drug, incompatibility of temperament, or confinement to a mental hospital for a period of five successful years. There may be other reasons that are acceptable in the state of Alabama as well and more information about grounds for divorce can be found when using Divorce.com.

Custody Of The Children In Alabama

The court awards joint or sole custody in accordance with what would be in the best interest of a child or children. Joint legal custody gives both birth parents the right to contribute to decision-making processes involving a child’s development and well-being. This does not mean that both parents have 50-50 time with the children. However, joint physical custody may exist and can be arranged so that parents have shared time with the children.

Alabama Child Support Guidelines

Alabama’s standard child support guidelines apply in virtually every contested and uncontested divorce case, barring special circumstances. Both parents' gross income, as well as other child-related expenses, are taken into consideration when calculating child support obligations. Child Support continues at least until the child reaches age 19 and may extend through the completion of secondary education.

Filing Fees

The filing fees charged by the state of Alabama are in addition to the cost for using Divorce.com. For more information about the actual and up-to-date cost for filing divorce papers in the state of Alabama, we provide an easy way to look up the filing fees for your area. This ensures that you have a clear picture of all expenses specific to your situation before moving forward.