Although most people don't think about the long-standing social tradition in this way, marriage is also a legal contract. Divorce is the severing of the contract, and it can only be granted by the Alabama courts under certain circumstances. These circumstances can be divided into fault-based and no-fault grounds for divorce. This article will focus on the latter.
Most states offer some form of no-fault divorce, but each has different rules and regulations. In Alabama, you can file for a no-fault divorce if one of two appropriate legal grounds exist.
In some cases, the voluntary abandonment of a marriage is also considered no-fault grounds for divorce in Alabama. If your spouse has left you to fend for yourself, especially with children, you should contact a divorce attorney in Cullman to discuss whether a fault-based divorce might entitle you to a greater portion of the marital estate. Otherwise, it may be easier to file for a no-fault divorce in the absence of material harm.
The good thing about Alabama offering no-fault divorces is that you don't have to argue and prove that your spouse did something wrong to dissolve your marriage. Instead, all it takes to start the process of moving on is showing the court that the marriage cannot be fixed and that it's in both parties' interests to separate your lives.
With a no-fault divorce, you don't have to focus on proving claims of wrongdoing. Instead, you can put your energy towards negotiating issues within the divorce, such as the division of marital property, how to manage assets and debts from the marital estate, alimony and child support payments, and child custody.
If the divorce is uncontested, that will open up an even greater range of options when it comes to dissolving the marriage. In Alabama, an uncontested divorce requires that you and your spouse agree on the details of property division, spousal support, and child custody. When this is the case, you can both use the same lawyer and request the legal dissolution of the marriage together to save time and money.
No-fault divorce isn't the right solution for everyone. If you can prove that your spouse's dangerous, shocking, neglectful, or otherwise bad behavior led to the breakdown of your marriage, it could lead to more favorable results in terms of spousal support, child custody, and other essential details.
There are a limited number of grounds for fault-based divorce in Alabama. Your subjective experience of the breakdown of your marriage isn't necessarily relevant. The court will need proof that your spouse was actively to blame. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to provide evidence of the following:
The problem is that proving your spouse committed one or more of these acts can pose challenges on both practical and emotional levels. You should consult a lawyer before deciding whether to file for a fault-based divorce.
There are several steps to filing for a no-fault divorce, but each requires a certain amount of work. Here's what you can expect:
Step One: Petition for Divorce
After finding a lawyer, the first step is to file a petition for divorce in the relevant circuit court. In most cases, you'll need to file the petition in the circuit court where your spouse resides. However, if they do not live in Alabama, you can file the petition with the circuit court of the county where you live. Plan to pay filing fees in the range of several hundred dollars.
Step Two: Serve Divorce Paperwork
The next step is to serve your spouse with the papers, which just means that they must be given notice that you are petitioning for divorce and receive a copy of the paperwork. In Alabama, you can't serve divorce paperwork yourself. Instead, you'll need to find a competent adult who is not a party to the case to do it for you. Most people pay a fee to the local sheriff or hire private process servers.
Step Three: Reach a Settlement
Couples filing for uncontested divorces don't need to worry about negotiating and reaching a settlement outside of court, nor do they have to serve divorce paperwork. They can submit a Divorce Complaint alongside a settlement agreement signed by both parties. If you and your spouse can't agree on important details of the divorce, like child custody, how to handle joint assets and liabilities, or the necessity for spousal support, don't worry. In most cases, you can still reach a settlement agreement out of court.
You may be tempted to assume that if you don't plan on proving that your spouse's actions forced the dissolution of your marriage, there's no need to hire a lawyer. However, divorce proceedings are complicated. Working with a lawyer means having not just legal representation if your spouse contests one or more of the proposed details of the divorce but also assistance with navigating each step of the process.
Experts recommend consulting a lawyer before you decide whether to file for a no-fault divorce. That way, you'll have help weighing the pros and cons of both approaches to filing for divorce and understand what you're getting into when it comes to paperwork, timelines for filing, and other essential details. You can learn more about the grounds for divorce or reach out to schedule a consultation and discuss your case with a family lawyer today.
