Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce
Divorce in Alabama is part law and part logistics, and the people who come out of it in decent shape are usually the ones who avoided a handful of predictable errors. Most of the damage in a divorce is not caused by the other spouse or even by the judge. It is self-inflicted. A client …
Continue reading "Common Mistakes to Avoid in an Alabama Divorce"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce
Divorce is one of the hardest things a person goes through, and nobody hands you a manual for the emotional side of it. The paperwork has deadlines. Your feelings do not. At The Harris Firm LLC, we have sat across the desk from thousands of Alabama clients over the years, and the pattern is almost …
Continue reading "Divorce and Your Mental Health: Self-Care Strategies in Alabama"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce
Almost every divorce that walks through our door now has a social media problem somewhere in it. Sometimes it is a Facebook post the client made in anger. Sometimes it is a photo the other spouse put on Instagram that lands on our desk as Exhibit 4. Sometimes it is a string of text messages …
Continue reading "The Role of Social Media in Alabama Divorce Cases: Precautions and Pitfalls"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce
Same-sex couples in Alabama have the same right to marry as anyone else, and with that right comes the same right to divorce. That has been settled law since 2015. What is less obvious to most people, and what actually matters when a marriage ends, is how Alabama’s divorce statutes apply to couples who often …
Continue reading "Divorce and the LGBTQ+ Community in Alabama"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce, Family Law
Divorce ends a marriage, but it does not untangle the money on its own. That part is on you. Bank accounts, retirement plans, tax returns, credit cards, the mortgage, the car notes, the kids’ 529 plans, the beneficiary line on an old life insurance policy nobody has looked at in a decade. All of it …
Continue reading "Organizing Your Financial Records Before Moving On From A Divorce"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce, Family Law
What is the best way to tell your spouse you want a divorce? There is no script that makes this easy, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do it, and the difference matters more than most people realize. How you start …
Continue reading "What is the Best Way to Tell Your Spouse You Want a Divorce"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce, Family Law
Most divorces never see a deposition. The vast majority of cases in Alabama settle, and the ones that go to trial usually get there on the strength of documents, sworn interrogatory answers, and the two spouses’ own testimony. So when a client asks whether they need a deposition, the honest first answer is usually a …
Continue reading "When is it a Good Idea to Have a Deposition in a Divorce"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce, Family Law
People ask us this question more than almost any other money question in a divorce: Should I clear out the bank accounts before I file? Usually it comes wrapped in fear. A spouse is worried the other one will drain the account first, or worried about paying rent next month, or just angry and looking …
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Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce, Family Law, Real Estate & Property Law
How do I get my husband off the deed to our marital home after the divorce is over? We hear that question almost every week, and it usually comes after the hard part is supposedly finished. The couple has already been through the fight over who keeps the house. The decree has been signed. One …
Continue reading "How do I get my Husband off the Deed to my house in a divorce"
Posted by Steven A. Harris | Divorce, Family Law
Most Alabama parenting plans handle the holidays the same basic way: the big holidays alternate between the parents by even-numbered and odd-numbered years, and the holiday schedule overrides the regular weekly schedule whenever the two conflict. That is the standard model, it works, and if you and your co-parent cannot agree on anything better, it …
Continue reading "Collaborating on Holiday Schedules in Divorce"
