Add a Calculated Field Legal Alabama Life Documents Newly Divorced Forms For Free

In an Alabama divorce, a wife may keep the personal property she owned before the marriage. A wife can also seek an equitable portion of marital property shared by the couple, including physical property (such as the family home) or other assets (such as bank accounts).

The required forms are available at the local Clerk of Court's office or through a divorce attorney and include: Complaint (if there are no minor children and no assets or debts for the court to divide, you can use form PS-08) Summons. The marital settlement agreement (if divorce is uncontested), signed by both parties.

Wait the Necessary Amount of Time Many divorces take months to resolve, though some can be finalized quickly. Alabama's divorce waiting period is only 30 days, which means you can obtain a final divorce decree after about four weeks if the underlying issues can be resolved in that time.

In the state of Alabama, neither property nor debts are approached as a 50/50 split. Rather, Alabama identifies as an “equitable distribution state.” This means that left up to the courts, the division of assets (property) and liabilities (debts) should be fair and equitable.

Equitable distribution in Alabama Community property states split all marital assets equally in half without regard to how long the marriage lasted or who contributed what to the marriage.

If your spouse will sign an Acceptance and Waiver of Service acknowledging receipt of the papers, you can mail the signed forms to the court by regular mail. Otherwise, you may serve your spouse papers via: First-class mail, with acknowledgment. Certified mail, return receipt requested.

There is no direct advantage of key family law issues—property division, child custody, etc—for filing for divorce first. However, the spouse that files for divorce first can assert some procedural control over the process, including determining which county in Alabama has jurisdiction over the divorce.

There is no direct advantage of key family law issues—property division, child custody, etc—for filing for divorce first. However, the spouse that files for divorce first can assert some procedural control over the process, including determining which county in Alabama has jurisdiction over the divorce.

Alabama divorce records can be obtained by anyone with sufficient information to search for the record at the appropriate government agency or court. This is because divorce records are public records.