Call our Alabama Uncontested Divorce Attorneys today at (205) 201-1789
The Harris Firm LLC drafts the parenting plan, custody terms, and visitation schedule in every uncontested divorce with minor children, from four offices filing in every Alabama county. Phone consultations for uncontested divorce are free; in-person consultations are $100.
In short: An uncontested divorce with children needs a written parenting plan covering legal custody (who makes major decisions), physical custody (where the children live), a regular visitation schedule, holidays and summer, and how exchanges work. Parents choose the terms; the judge confirms they serve the children’s best interests and signs.
What most parents pick: Joint legal custody with one parent’s home as the primary residence and a defined schedule for the other, or a true shared arrangement with near-equal time. Both are common, both are approved routinely, and the right one depends on your work schedules, school, and distance between homes, not on a formula.
The Alabama framework: Alabama Code § 30-3-150 declares the state’s policy in favor of joint custody where it serves the child, and § 30-3-152 lists the factors a court weighs. In an agreed case the court applies the best-interests standard to the plan you submit rather than building one itself. A few counties require a parenting class before the decree is entered.
The biggest mistake: Writing “reasonable visitation as the parties agree” and nothing else. It reads cooperative and it is unenforceable. When the cooperation ends in two years, a plan with no schedule leaves nothing for a court to enforce and forces a contested modification. Put the schedule on paper now, while you agree.
The Children Section and Where to Go Next
Legal Custody and Physical Custody Are Separate Decisions
Alabama splits custody into two questions, and your agreement has to answer both. Legal custody is decision-making authority: school, medical care, religion, and the other major choices. Physical custody is where the children actually live day to day. The two are independent. Parents can share legal custody equally while one home serves as the primary residence, and that is in fact the most common arrangement in agreed Alabama divorces.
Joint legal custody means both parents consult on major decisions. Most agreements name one parent to make the final call in a specific area if the parents cannot agree, which prevents deadlock without requiring a trip to court. Sole legal custody, where one parent decides alone, is less common in agreed cases but appropriate when the other parent is absent or the parents genuinely cannot communicate.
Physical custody ranges from one primary home with a defined schedule for the other parent to a genuinely shared arrangement with the children splitting time close to equally. Alabama does not presume either. The child custody section of this site covers the law in depth; this page covers how to write the terms into an agreement the judge will sign.
What a Court-Ready Visitation Schedule Looks Like
The heart of the parenting plan is the calendar, and the test for every line is whether a stranger could read it and know exactly where the children are on any given day. That means naming days and times, not describing intentions.
A standard plan covers the regular schedule (every other weekend from Friday at 6 p.m. to Sunday at 6 p.m., plus a weeknight dinner, or a week-on, week-off rotation), holidays (alternating Thanksgiving and Christmas by even and odd years, with specific exchange times), summer (extended blocks of two to four weeks, with notice deadlines), and exchanges (where, when, and who drives). Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and spring break each get a line.
Parents who plan to be flexible should still write the default schedule down. The agreement can say the parents may vary it by mutual consent; what it cannot do is leave it blank. A defined schedule is what the court enforces when flexibility runs out, and it is what keeps a good arrangement from turning into a contested case.
Long-distance plans, where one parent lives hours away, replace weekly exchanges with longer, less frequent blocks and address travel costs. We draft those routinely.
The DeKalb County Courthouse in Fort Payne. Judges here, as everywhere in Alabama, sign parenting plans that are specific and send back the ones that are not.
The Parenting Plan Checklist
Every parenting plan we draft addresses the items below. Walk through them with your spouse before the consultation and most of the agreement writes itself.
Legal custody
Joint or sole. If joint, who has the final say on school, medical, and religious decisions if you disagree.
Physical custody
Primary residence with one parent, or shared. Which address the children use for school enrollment.
Regular schedule
The week-to-week calendar, with days, times, and locations of exchanges spelled out.
Holidays and school breaks
Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, summer, and the minor holidays, alternated or split, with times.
Communication
Reasonable phone or video contact with the other parent during their time, and how the parents communicate about the children.
Relocation
Alabama law requires notice before a custodial parent moves the children a significant distance. The plan should say what happens if a move is proposed.
Transportation
Who drives to exchanges and, for long-distance plans, who pays for travel.
Right of first refusal
Optional: if one parent needs child care during their time, the other parent gets the first chance to take the children.
What the Court Checks Before Signing
In an uncontested divorce the judge does not design custody; the judge reviews the custody the parents designed. The question is whether the plan serves the children’s best interests, and for a specific, workable plan agreed to by two involved parents the answer is almost always yes. Plans get sent back for one of three reasons: the schedule is vague, the plan is internally inconsistent (joint physical custody in one paragraph and a standard every-other-weekend schedule in the next), or the child support figure does not fit the custody arrangement.
That last point matters. The child support calculation assumes a custody arrangement, and a true shared schedule can justify a different support figure than a primary-residence schedule. We draft the two together so they agree with each other, which is the thing a judge notices first.
A handful of Alabama counties require both parents to complete a parenting class before the decree is entered, and some judges, most often in Madison County, set a brief hearing in cases with children even when everything is agreed. We tell you at the consultation whether either applies to your county, and the divorce with children hub covers both in detail.
How the Parenting Plan Gets Written and Approved
Six steps from your first conversation to a signed decree.
Decide the Basics Together
Legal custody, primary residence or shared, and the shape of the regular schedule. You do not need legal language, just decisions.
Free Phone Consultation
We walk through the checklist above, flag anything a judge will question, and confirm whether your county requires a parenting class or a hearing.
We Draft the Plan
Your decisions become a complete parenting plan with the schedule, holidays, summer, exchanges, and decision-making terms written the way courts expect.
Child Support Matched to Custody
The Rule 32 calculation is prepared alongside the plan so the support figure fits the custody arrangement.
Both Parents Sign
In any office or by mail before a notary. Questions about any term are included in the flat fee.
Filing and the Decree
The plan is filed with the divorce. After the 30-day waiting period, the judge confirms it serves the children and signs. It becomes an enforceable court order.
Custody and Visitation Agreement FAQs
1.Can we decide custody ourselves in an uncontested divorce?
Yes. In an agreed divorce the parents design the custody arrangement and the judge reviews it under the best-interests standard. Specific, workable plans agreed to by two involved parents are approved routinely. The court only steps in to design custody when the parents cannot agree.
2.What is the difference between legal and physical custody?
Legal custody is authority over major decisions like school, medical care, and religion. Physical custody is where the children live day to day. The two are decided separately, and the most common agreed arrangement is joint legal custody with one parent’s home as the primary residence and a defined schedule for the other parent.
3.Do we have to use a specific visitation schedule?
No. Alabama does not impose a mandatory schedule in agreed cases. Parents can choose every-other-weekend with a weeknight, week-on and week-off, or anything else that works for them, as long as it is written specifically with days, times, and exchange details.
4.Is “reasonable visitation as agreed” enough?
No. It is the most common drafting mistake we see in self-prepared agreements. Without a defined schedule there is nothing for a court to enforce if the parents stop cooperating, and fixing it later means a contested modification. Write the default schedule down even if you plan to be flexible.
5.Does our county require a parenting class?
Roughly seven to ten Alabama counties require divorcing parents to complete a parenting class before the decree is entered, and several more leave it to the judge. We tell you at the free consultation whether your county is one of them. The class fee is paid to the provider, not to us.
6.Can we change the custody arrangement after the divorce?
Yes, by agreement or by petition. If both parents agree to a change, it can be submitted to the court jointly. If they do not, the parent seeking the change must show a material change in circumstances under Alabama’s modification standard, which is a contested proceeding. Getting the initial plan right is the best protection.
Four Offices, Every Alabama County
Turn Your Parenting Decisions Into a Plan the Judge Will Sign
Bring your decisions on custody and the schedule to the free phone consultation. We will tell you what a judge will question, draft the plan, and match the child support to it.
The Flat Fee Covers
✓ Complete parenting plan: custody, schedule, holidays, summer, exchanges
✓ Rule 32 child support calculation matched to the custody terms
✓ All other drafting, filing, and the 30-day waiting period
✓ Certified copy of the Final Decree
$690 plus filing fee without minor children · $890 plus filing fee with minor children
Call the Office Nearest You
Birmingham: (205) 201-1789
Chelsea: (205) 677-5490
Huntsville: (256) 665-9473
Montgomery: (334) 782-9938
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