Call our Alabama Same-Sex Divorce Attorneys today at (205) 201-1789
The Harris Firm LLC files uncontested divorces statewide from offices in Birmingham, Chelsea, Montgomery, and Huntsville. Phone consultations for uncontested divorce are free; in-person consultations are $100.
In short: An uncontested divorce for a same-sex couple works exactly like an uncontested divorce for any other couple in Alabama: both spouses agree on every issue, the paperwork is drafted and signed, the case is filed electronically, and the decree is entered after the state’s minimum 30-day waiting period. Flat fee: $690 without minor children, $890 with minor children, plus the county filing fee.
How it works: Most uncontested divorces are handled entirely online through AlaFile, Alabama’s e-filing system — no courtroom, no hearing, in most counties no in-person appearance at all. You divorce where you live, not where you married, so a couple wed in Massachusetts or Canada divorces right here in Alabama.
The Alabama framework: Alabama Code §30-2-5 requires one spouse to have lived in Alabama for six months before filing when the other spouse is a non-resident, and Alabama’s no-fault grounds under §30-2-1 — incompatibility and irretrievable breakdown — cover an agreed divorce without airing anyone’s business.
The biggest mistake: Treating the settlement agreement as boilerplate. For same-sex couples, the agreement is where the marriage date gets stipulated, where pre-marriage years get honored voluntarily, and where a non-biological parent’s time with the kids gets locked into an enforceable order. Agreed does not mean generic.
Related Pages for Divorcing Same-Sex Couples
Same-Sex Divorce
The statewide hub for same-sex divorce in Alabama — process, property, parentage, and fees.
Same-Sex Divorce →
The Marriage Date
When your marriage legally began — out-of-state ceremonies, civil unions, and proving a disputed date.
Marriage Date →
Property Division
The years the law does not count, the common-benefit exception, retirement accounts, and the marital home.
Property Division →
Custody & Parentage
Who counts as a legal parent, the marital presumption, second-parent adoption, and never having adopted.
Custody & Parentage →
The Same Process, the Same Flat Fee
Since Obergefell, an Alabama uncontested divorce is an Alabama uncontested divorce — the courts use the same forms, the same no-fault grounds, and the same 30-day minimum waiting period for every married couple. Our fee is the same too: $690 flat without minor children of the marriage, $890 flat with minor children (the higher tier covers the parenting plan and the Rule 32 child support calculation), plus your county’s filing fee. Both spouses sign, nobody testifies about fault, and in most counties nobody appears in court at all.
“Uncontested” means agreed on everything: the divorce itself, the division of property and debts, and — if you have children — custody, parenting time, and child support. It does not mean friendly, and it does not require you to be on good terms. It requires signatures. Plenty of couples who can barely stand each other still manage an uncontested divorce because it is faster, cheaper, and private.
This page is part of our same-sex divorce practice. If you and your spouse are not in agreement, the contested side of the practice covers custody, property, and marriage-date disputes.
Do You Qualify?
Two boxes to check — agreement and residency. Here is what qualifies and what doesn’t.
You Likely Qualify If…
You both want the divorce and agree on how everything divides; at least one of you has lived in Alabama for six months (when the other spouse lives out of state); and you both will sign the paperwork. It does not matter where you married — another state, another country — or whether your spouse now lives in Alabama, another state, or overseas.
You Likely Don’t If…
Any single issue is genuinely disputed — who keeps the house, the parenting schedule, whether the marriage dates to 2009 or 2016. One contested issue converts the whole case. A spouse who won’t sign, can’t be found, or is playing games also takes you out of uncontested territory. Those cases are handled on the contested side, and many settle into agreement later.
Married Somewhere Else? You Still Divorce Here
We hear this question weekly: “We got married in Massachusetts — do we have to go back there to divorce?” No. Divorce jurisdiction follows residence, not the wedding venue. If you live in Alabama and meet the residency requirement of Alabama Code §30-2-5, an Alabama circuit court can dissolve your marriage no matter where it was celebrated — Boston, New York, Toronto, or a beach in Hawaii.
This matters for same-sex couples more than most, because so many Alabama couples married out of state before 2015. Some of those couples were once trapped in what lawyers called “wedlock limbo” — married in a state they didn’t live in, unable to divorce at home because Alabama refused to recognize the marriage, and unable to divorce in the marrying state because they didn’t live there. Obergefell ended that. Your home state courthouse is open to you, and for an uncontested case you won’t even need to visit it.
One flag before you file: if you and your spouse would answer “when did the marriage start?” differently — an out-of-state ceremony in 2010 versus Alabama recognition in 2015 — settle that on paper as part of the agreement. A stipulated date costs nothing; a disputed marriage date is a contested case.
What Your Settlement Agreement Should Cover — the Same-Sex Specifics
The settlement agreement is the whole ballgame in an uncontested divorce — the judge largely adopts what you agreed to. For same-sex couples, four provisions deserve more care than the standard template gives them.
The marriage date. Recite it. If you married out of state before 2015, the agreement should state the ceremony date and location so the decree fixes it permanently — no ambiguity for a retirement plan administrator or a future court to trip over. The pre-marriage years. A judge dividing property at trial is boxed in by what counts as marital. Your agreement isn’t. Spouses can voluntarily divide the house bought in 2009 or the retirement built during fifteen pre-marriage years together however fairness demands — the uncontested process is where the years the law doesn’t count can still count.
The children. If one spouse is not the child’s legal parent — no adoption, no birth-certificate presumption — the parenting terms in the agreement may be that parent’s only enforceable protection. Get the schedule, decision-making, and support terms into the decree, not into a text thread. Cases with minor children use the $890 tier, which includes the parenting plan and Rule 32 child support calculation. Name restoration. If either spouse took the other’s name — or hyphenated — the decree can restore a former name at no extra cost. Ask for it now; a separate name change later costs more.
Transfers that follow the agreement are flat-fee add-ons when needed: $750 for a quit claim deed conveying real estate, $2,000 for a QDRO dividing a 401(k) or pension.
Filed Electronically, Handled Remotely
Alabama’s circuit courts accept electronic filing through AlaFile, and we handle uncontested divorces for clients in all 67 counties without regard to which of our four offices is closest. Documents are prepared, signed, and filed; the file moves through the court during the 30-day waiting period; and the judge signs the final decree — typically with no hearing and no appearance by either spouse. Consultations, signatures, and updates can all happen by phone and email, which is why clients from Dothan to Florence use us without ever driving to an office.
County quirks still exist, and we build around them. Jefferson County is the only county that files the complaint first and the supporting documents after. A few counties require a parenting class when minor children are involved. And some Madison County judges set a brief hearing in cases with children even when everything is agreed. None of this changes the fee — it changes the choreography, and knowing it in advance is part of what you hire us for.
Filing Fees and Quirks in Our Most Common Counties
| County | Approx. Filing Fee | Worth Knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson (Birmingham) | ~$215 | Unique two-step filing sequence; two divisions (Birmingham and Bessemer Cutoff). |
| Shelby (Chelsea) | ~$295 | Documents must be signed close to the filing date. |
| Madison (Huntsville) | ~$340 | Among the highest fees in the state; a brief hearing is possible in cases with minor children, judge-dependent. |
| Montgomery | ~$205 | Parenting class is judge-dependent; documents must be signed close to filing. |
| Tuscaloosa | ~$240 | In-person parenting class required for cases with minor children. |
Fees drift as courts adjust surcharges — call to confirm your county’s current amount, or see the full list of filing fees for all 67 Alabama counties.
How Your Same-Sex Uncontested Divorce Will Go
From first call to final decree, most cases follow this exact path.
Free Phone Consultation
An attorney confirms you qualify, walks through your agreement terms, quotes the exact total for your county, and flags anything same-sex-specific — the marriage date, parentage, out-of-state certificates.
Documents Drafted
We draft the complaint, settlement agreement, and supporting documents — plus the parenting plan and Rule 32 child support calculation when children are involved — tailored to your terms, not a template’s.
Both Spouses Sign
Signatures are collected — including notarized documents where required. Counties like Shelby and Montgomery want signatures fresh, so we time this step to the filing.
Filed Through AlaFile
The case is filed electronically with your county’s circuit court — the firm advances the filing fee, which you reimburse before filing. Jefferson County’s two-step sequence is handled automatically.
The 30-Day Waiting Period
Alabama requires a minimum of 30 days between filing and the final decree. Nothing is needed from you during the wait in most cases — if your county requires a parenting class, this is when you complete it.
Final Decree Entered
The judge signs the decree, you receive a certified copy, and the divorce is done. Any follow-through — quit claim deed, QDRO, name updates with Social Security and the DMV — happens from here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Same-Sex Uncontested Divorce
1.Do we qualify for an uncontested divorce in Alabama as a same-sex couple?
If you both agree on every issue — the divorce, property and debts, and custody and support if you have children — and at least one of you has lived in Alabama for six months, yes. The rules are identical for every married couple. Where you married, and whether your spouse still lives in Alabama, do not matter.
2.We got married in another state. Can we still get an uncontested divorce in Alabama?
Yes. You divorce where you live, not where you married. An Alabama circuit court can dissolve a marriage celebrated in Massachusetts, New York, Canada, or anywhere else, as long as the residency requirement is met. Bring a certified copy of the marriage certificate, and if you married before 2015, have the agreement recite the ceremony date so the decree fixes it cleanly.
3.How much does a same-sex uncontested divorce cost?
Our attorney fee is a flat $690 without minor children of the marriage or $890 with minor children, plus your county’s filing fee — roughly $200 to $340 depending on the county. Using Jefferson County’s approximately $215 fee as an example, the total out-of-pocket runs about $905 without children or $1,105 with. Add-ons only if you need them: $750 for a quit claim deed, $2,000 for a QDRO.
4.Do we have to go to court?
Almost never. Uncontested divorces are filed electronically through AlaFile and decided on the papers in most counties — no hearing, no appearance. The main exception worth knowing: some Madison County judges set a brief hearing when minor children are involved, even in agreed cases. We tell you up front if your county and your facts make an appearance likely.
5.How long does a same-sex uncontested divorce take?
Alabama requires a minimum of 30 days between filing and the final decree, so the realistic answer is about five to eight weeks start to finish: a week or two to draft and gather signatures, the 30-day waiting period, and however long your judge takes to sign after it runs. Cases with children in parenting-class counties add whatever time the class takes.
6.What if we agree on everything except one issue?
Then you are not uncontested yet — but you are close, and it is usually worth one more conversation before filing contested. Many “one issue” couples reach full agreement once they understand what litigating that issue would cost against what is actually at stake. If the gap will not close, the case starts on the contested side and can convert to an agreed divorce whenever the last issue settles.
Four Offices, All 67 Counties
Because uncontested divorces are handled remotely and filed electronically, we serve every Alabama county from these four offices — your divorce is filed in the county where you or your spouse lives.
Start With a Free Phone Consultation
Fifteen minutes on the phone tells you whether you qualify, what your total will be in your county, and whether anything about your marriage — the date, the kids, the property — needs special handling in the agreement. No cost, no pressure.
What the Flat Fee Includes
✓ Free initial phone consultation with an attorney
✓ Complaint, settlement agreement, and supporting documents
✓ Parenting plan and Rule 32 calculation ($890 tier)
✓ Electronic filing with your county’s circuit court
✓ Case coordination through the 30-day waiting period
✓ Certified copy of your final decree
Call the Office Nearest You
Birmingham: (205) 201-1789
Chelsea: (205) 677-5490
Montgomery: (334) 782-9938
Huntsville: (256) 665-9473
Or start online: schedule a consultation · Read the full guide to uncontested divorce in Alabama.
Harris Firm LLC Proud Member of
