|
1. Adultery
2. Living separate and apart without cohabitation for over 2 years
without the husband supporting the wife (divorce must be filed by
wife)
3. Imprisonment (for over 2 years if the total sentence is over 7
years)
4. Unnatural sexual behavior before or after the marriage
5. Alcoholism
6. Drug abuse
7. Confinement for incurable insanity for over 5 years
8. Wife pregnant by another at the time of the marriage without the
husband's knowledge
9. Physical abuse or reasonable fear of physical abuse
10. Lack of physical ability to consummate marriage
Divorce Mediation Requirements
There is no legal provision in Alabama for mediation.
Child Custody
Custody of any children of the marriage may be granted to either
parent. Factors to be considered are:
1. The age and sex of the child
2. The safety and well-being of the child
3. The moral character of the parents.
The wishes of the child are also a factor to be considered. There is
a legal presumption against giving custody to any person who has
inflicted any violence against either a spouse or a child. In abuse
cases, the judge is required to consider any history of domestic
abuse and may not consider the fact that a parent or spouse has
relocated to avoid abuse. Alabama officially favors joint custody
(but not equal physical custody) if in the best interests of the
child and the parents agree. Factors to be considered are:
1. Parental custody agreement
2. Parental cooperation
3. Parental ability to encourage love and sharing
4. Any history of abuse
5. Geographic proximity of parents
Joint custody may be awarded. However, if the wife abandons the
husband and the children are over 7 years old, the husband is
granted custody if he is suitable. Grandparents may be given
visitation rights.
Alabama Divorce Law : Property Division
Under Alabama case law, Alabama is an "equitable distribution" state
and the judge has full discretion to divide the any jointly-owned
real estate or personal property, but does not have the authority to
award the wife's separate property to the husband (regardless of
whether the wife's separate property was obtained before or after
the marriage). Continue to
Alaska Divorce
Laws |
| Resource
Article:
What do I call you?
By Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW
What do I call you?
Some separated parents face a difficult decision when one or other
parent establishes a new and committed relationship: What to call
the stepparent?
What a child calls a stepparent can set the stage for battles or
deeply loving relationships. The direction this takes is greatly
determined by the relationship between the natural parents and the
respective security of each parent’s relationship with their
children. Age of child will also factor in with regard to the
child’s comfort in addressing the stepparent with special terms.
Preschool age children tend to take more naturally to calling a
stepparent mom or dad. For them, a mom or dad is a loving person in
authority who has serious responsibility for their care. Some school
age children may be less inclined to call a stepparent mom or dad
owing to concerns of loyalty to the natural parent, while others may
feel embarrassed calling a step parent by their proper name when out
in public. Hence school age children are at times seen to call a
stepparent by their proper name in private and by mom or dad, in
public. Teenagers are far more apt to just call a stepparent by
their proper name and tend not to feel the discomfort sometimes
experienced by the younger school age children.
Parents themselves may take issue with their child calling another
adult mom or dad. There may be concern of their relationship being
diminished if the child uses their name towards the stepparent. If
there is conflict between the natural parents, the perceived threat
to a parent’s relationship with their child may intensify if a child
then calls the stepparent mom or dad. In such cases, the child may
then be subject to a tug of war where one parents expects the child
to address the stepparent as mom or dad while the other parent
admonishes the child, “you only have one mother or father”. In these
situations, the child is caught in the middle and either annoys one,
other or both parents, or alternately, learns to lie about the
situation to avoid harassment.
Parents have a number of strategies to find the right name for a
stepparent. In some cases they simply let the child-stepparent
relationship speak for itself and thus take their lead from the
child. In other cases, natural parents meet and discuss the matter
and come to a mutual solution. Some parents find a compromise
solution by finding similar, but different terms such as mom/mommy
and dad/daddy. Where there are cultural differences, the term used
by one culture may be different that that used by another culture
and hence there may be no conflict by using the respective cultural
term. Other persons use special names or pet names.
Parents must remember that whatever one chooses to do, sets the
stage for what the other may do. Thus care is advised if one parent
makes a decision that they wouldn’t like the other parent to take.
The child’s perspective is to have loving and caring relationship
with all parents – natural and step. The child seeks to avoid
conflict and get on with the job of being a kid. If the child is
caught up in the struggle of what to call a stepparent, the child
can be distracted from school and behavioral or emotional problems
may arise.
What is really being discussed is the process of adjustment. Natural
parents and stepparents must understand that the process does take
time and with time, they all can learn that kids may have loving and
caring relationship with multiple persons where loving one takes
nothing away from loving another regardless of what they are called.
Best advise? Concentrate on loving your child and what the child
calls you will be secondary to a great relationship because that’s
what it’s really about. |
