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Your Alabama Divorce Lawyer and Family Law Attorneys

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About the harris firm attorneys at law

The Harris Firm, LLC has offices across the State of Alabama, helping individuals through some of the most difficult times of their lives. Our family law attorneys help people file Petitions for divorce, adoption, divorce modification, annulment, contempt, child custody, protection from abuse, and many other domestic relations matters. Call us to speak with one of our divorce and family law attorneys in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, Anniston, Decatur, Cullman, Pelham, Hoover, Bessemer, Alabaster, Prattville, Selma, Millbrook, and Auburn

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Bankruptcy Attorney

Family Law Attorneys

What is family law? It is a term for an area of law dealing with mostly domestic relations matters and issues involving families. Cases such as divorces, custody petitions, child support matters, adoptions, buying a first home for your family, or any other matter involving mostly matters of a domestic nature.

The most common area of law that family law attorneys deal with is divorce. However, it is not always the filing of a divorce. It can often be someone going back and trying to change or modify their prior divorce agreement or decree. This is called a Divorce Modification and can be done by agreement or you can attempt to do it without the ex-spouse’s agreement if there have been substantial changes since the divorce decree was entered.

Another divorce related family law issue is the Petition for Contempt. This is where you got your divorce decree, and in it your ex-spouse was ordered to do something like refinance a loan or transfer a home. If they do not do what they were ordered to do, you can file this Petition and take them back in front of the same judge to hold them in contempt of court. This filing for Contempt is how people take a parent to court for not paying their child support. The judge can sometimes order the person not only in contempt for not following their Order, but can sometimes order them to serve some time in jail until they do what they were ordered to do (such as paying child support). Contempt Petitions are a very powerful way to make someone do what they were ordered to do previously. Our contempt attorneys can fight for you and work hard to get your former spouse to do what they agreed to do in your prior case.

Divorce Attorneys

If you and your spouse are not in agreement, then you will need to file a contested divorce and have our attorneys argue your case for you to the judge. A divorce begins with a Complaint being filed with the Court. Once filed, your spouse is served the document and they get their own divorce lawyer in Birmingham to file an Answer. 

At that point, your divorce attorney and your spouse will negotiate and try to reach an agreement. If no agreement can be reached, then there will sometimes be mediation ordered in the case. If an agreement cannot be reached at mediation, then our family law attorneys will take your case to trial and the judge will have to decide all of your contested marital issues. 

It is important to have a local divorce attorney to fight for you during the case. They will gather evidence during something called the Discovery process and prepare your case for trial. Even though a settlement might be reached, by properly preparing your case from the beginning it puts you in a much better negotiating position and can result in a better settlement outcome.

UNCONTESTED DIVORCE LAWYERS

If you are contemplating a divorce, then you are usually going to file an uncontested or contested divorce. An uncontested divorce is where you both agree on everything and a contested divorce is where there is no agreement and you need someone to fight for you in court. Either way our divorce lawyers are here to help.

If it is an uncontested divorce, we are currently charging $390 plus filing fee for simple uncontested divorces without minor children and $490 plus filing fee for simple uncontested divorces with minor children of the marriage. Our Alabama divorce lawyers will work with you to ensure that your uncontested divorce goes as quickly and easily as possible.

We have offices across Alabama, so whether you need a uncontested divorce lawyer in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, Anniston, Decatur, Cullman, Pelham, Hoover, Bessemer, Alabaster, Prattville, Selma, Millbrook, or Auburn we can help.

Although we can handle your cheap divorce in Alabama, our divorce lawyers also handle other family law matters but they are typically much more expensive than an uncontested divorce and require something called a retainer to be paid up front. If you call our family law and divorce lawyers today we can give you a quick consultation over the phone and can usually quote you a retainer fee the same day you call.

Bankruptcy Attorney

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, then our Alabama bankruptcy attorneys can help you. Our bankruptcy lawyers will meet with you to go over your financial situation and determine if bankruptcy is the right option for you. If you decide to file, our bankruptcy lawyers can go over the entire process with you, have you sign the proper paperwork, file your bankruptcy for you, and ensure that you receive your discharge as quickly and easily as possible. Whether you need a bankruptcy lawyer in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden, Anniston, Decatur, Cullman, Pelham, Hoover, Bessemer, Alabaster, Prattville, Selma, Millbrook, or Auburn we can help

The Chapter 7 bankruptcy process can be very fast, usually lasting only about ninety days. Some examples of debts that can be eliminated in this type of bankruptcy are credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, deficiencies on secured property, and personal loans. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a five year payment plan, where you pay back some or all of your debts back over sixty months. Depending on your budget, you may pay back all or none of your unsecured creditors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and it can help you avoid a foreclosure, stop a garnishment, avoid a repossession, and even restructure certain debts like your vehicle loan, student loans, or tax debts. Give our bankruptcy lawyers a call today for a consultation and let us answer any questions you may have about the bankruptcy process.

Family Law FAQs

There are two types of custody in Alabama, physical and legal custody. Legal custody is who has the rights to make decisions for the child and is usually given jointly in a divorce. The physical custody is who the child is actually living with most of the time, that parent has sole physical custody and the other parent has visitation rights such as every other weekend. In rare cases, both parents spend equal amounts of time with the children in what some call “shared” custody, this is basically joint physical custody... Read more

In Alabama, there is a formula that is used by the courts to determine how much one party is to pay in child support to the other. This is called the child support guidelines and is based primarily on both spouses' gross monthly incomes. The courts will usually go by what these guidelines say, but if you wish to agree to a different amount you can do so in your settlement agreement but if a judge feels that the amount you have agreed to is unfair then they might not sign off on your agreement and a hearing will need to be held or you will need to amend the documents appropriately. Typically, if you are close to the guidelines then it is alright, but if you agree to an amount that is substantially lower or higher than the guidelines it can cause delays in your divorce being finalized and may not be approved. Our local divorce attorneys will perform the guidelines for you in an uncontested divorce and it is usually best to go by their calculations if possible.... Read more

In Alabama, there is a formula that is used by the courts to determine how much one party is to pay in child support to the other. This is called the child support guidelines and is based primarily on both spouses' gross monthly incomes. The courts will usually go by what these guidelines say, but if you wish to agree to a different amount you can do so in your settlement agreement but if a judge feels that the amount you have agreed to is unfair then they might not sign off on your agreement and a hearing will need to be held or you will need to amend the documents appropriately. Typically, if you are close to the guidelines then it is alright, but if you agree to an amount that is substantially lower or higher than the guidelines it can cause delays in your divorce being finalized and may not be approved. Our local divorce attorneys will perform the guidelines for you in an uncontested divorce and it is usually best to go by their calculations if possible... Read more

If your spouse was ordered to do something and refuses to do it, then you can take them back to the judge that ordered it and they can find them in Contempt of Court. This means that the judge can make them do it or punish them for not doing it. Sometimes this could mean making them pay fines or additional costs. It could also mean ordering them to jail in cases where someone is not paying child support or can do the thing they're ordered to do but is refusing to do it anyway for no good reason... Read more

Sure, this is called a joint petition to modify if both parties are in agreement. So if the two of you need to change the primary custody from the mother to the father so that the child can be enrolled in another school system, it can be a matter of mostly paperwork and there is usually not a hearing. If the parties are not in agreement, and you just want to have a judge modify the old decree based on something going on that’s new, you can do that but there must be evidence shown at a hearing about such new substantial changes that have happened... Read more

If the biological father is in agreement, then you can do something called a step-parent adoption. This is where no one is contesting the adoption and doesn’t require much court. Once filed, there is a person appointed to look after the child’s best interest called a guardian ad litem. This person looks into the prospective parents home situation and recommends the adoption take place. As long as the biological parents are in agreement then it can occur without too much difficulty in the Probate Court where the child resides... Read more

More Family Law FAQs

Divorce FAQs

It depends on which type of divorce you are doing.  If you are pursuing an uncontested divorce (where you and your spouse have reached an agreement concerning all marital issues) then you can fill out our questionnaire... Read more

For a contested divorce, you will need to call and speak with one of our attorneys for a quote.  However, we usually work with you to structure a low, flat fee instead of expensive retainers that are billed out of at an expensive hourly rate... Read more

As long as you or hour spouse is a resident of Alabama, then you can file here.   To be a resident, you have to have resided in the State for at least six months prior to filing a case. If you both are residents of Alabama, then... Read more

An uncontested divorce is where both you and your spouse have reached an agreement about all of your marital issues such as custody, child support, division of property, and all other issues.  If you have reached such an agreement... Read more

An uncontested divorce usually takes about one or two months after everything has been signed by both spouses and filed with the court.  A contested divorce can take anywhere from 30 days to months or years, depending on... Read more

More Divorce FAQs

Bankruptcy FAQs

Bankruptcy was created to give individuals and entities an opportunity to have get financial relief, potentially get a fresh start by resolving their serious debt issues. For example, by filing Chapter 7 you could eliminate... Read more

We charge $1050 for our attorney fees in most simple Chapter 7 cases.  In addition to this, there is a court filing fee and many other fees and costs but we can tell you the total when you call... Read more

Other than the creditors and persons you tell, it is unlikely others will know that you filed.  It is public record, but not easily accessible by the general public.  Some possible exceptions to this would be if... Read more

more Bankruptcy FAQs

Thousands of Clients served in Alabama

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“Excellent service, very reasonable price, and willing to speak with you in a timely manner about your concerns. I highly recommend the Harris Firm for your legal needs.“

Vernon P.
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“The Harris Firm did an outstanding job handling my case. The staff was always professional & answered all of my questions and concerns in a timely manner. I have already recommended them to my friends & colleagues.“

Shawnta G.
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“Quick and easy Uncontested divorce. Everything was spelled out in easy to follow instructions. The Harris Firm was prompt and responsive when questions arose. Excellent customer service!“

Stephanie C.
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