Vestavia Divorce Lawyers

Getting Divorce in Vestavia? We Can Help You Get a Fast and Cheap Divorce

For Vestavia and other Jefferson County residents considering divorce, our Vestavia Divorce lawyers are here to help guide you through the entire process. Divorce is never easy, but it can be much simpler and more straightforward if you and your spouse are able to come to a mutual agreement when it comes to important issues like child support, property division, alimony, visitation, and other matters arising from the marriage. In case you and your spouse are not able to reach a mutual agreement, our divorce attorneys can help you file for a contested divorce.

At The Harris Firm, LLC, our Vestavia divorce lawyer is an experienced, passionate, and skilled advocate for clients.

With considerable experience handling both uncontested cases and contested divorce cases, we have the well-rounded expertise that you can trust. Our firm knows that most people want a fast, cheap, low-conflict divorce so that they can move forward with their lives. We also know that you want your divorce done the right way. If you have any questions about your rights or options, please contact our Vestavia divorce attorney today for a confidential consultation.

Not every divorce has to be a nasty or difficult fight. Indeed, most people are able to reach a settlement in their divorce without a trial. This is done through a process called an uncontested divorce. Simply described, an uncontested divorce is one that happens when both spouses agree on all key aspects of their separation—including things like asset division, debt division, child custody, child visitation, and spousal support. Why is it better? An uncontested allows couples to avoid a trial and resolve disagreements in a private, more amicable manner. It can save a lot of time and a lot of money. Uncontested divorces are generally also far less stressful than contested divorces.

Fault is rarely an issue in an uncontested divorce. In Alabama, you and your spouse can get divorced on no-fault grounds—meaning neither spouse has to prove that the other did anything “wrong” to be eligible for a divorce in Vestavia Hills (Vestavia). In Alabama, there are two no-fault grounds:

Incompatibility of Temperament: The spouses can no longer get along, indicating that their differences are so profound that they cannot reasonably be expected to reconcile.
Irretrievable Breakdown of the Marriage: The marital relationship is considered permanently damaged, with no hope for repair or reconciliation.

You and your spouse can file for a no-fault, uncontested divorce in Vestavia based solely on the fact that your temperaments are incompatible and/or that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. You do not have to get into any specifics about the reasons for a divorce.

We provide flat-fee services for uncontested divorces in Vestavia. Our firm wants to ensure that your divorce is affordable and efficient. An uncontested divorce may require additional fees such as the filing fee. The filing fee that each county charges to file a divorce is not included in these fees. The filing fee for an uncontested divorce in Jefferson County is $199.00.  The filing fee for an uncontested divorce is a bit higher in Shelby County.

At the moment, our Vestavia divorce attorneys are offering discounted flat fees for uncontested divorces in  Jefferson County, and throughout Central Alabama. To get the process started, fill out and send us a questionnaire online by going to the right sidebar on this page. Call us anytime with any questions you may have about filing a divorce in Vestavia or anywhere else in the region.

While contested divorces end up being more expensive than uncontested divorces, it is your next option should an agreement not be able to be reached. It is the only way to be awarded your assets or rights from a judge.This is why we advise couples looking to get a divorce to opt for an uncontested divorce when they are able to. Divorces in Vestavia Hills and Jefferson County are significantly simpler and cheaper when they are uncontested.

Having reliable counsel through the divorce process is essential to filing it properly. Our Vestavia divorce lawyers can help you file all the paperwork and documents for an uncontested or contested divorce.  For divorces in Jefferson County, we invite you to reach out to our office. We will discuss all the details with your such as any required fees needed to initiate the process and other aspects over the phone.

If you and your spouse want a quick and cheap divorce in Vestavia, we recommend an uncontested divorce. This option works for couples who have reached agreements on all marital issues and will just need to fill out paperwork and provide certain documents to proceed. To begin, we will have you fill out a simple questionnaire explaining what you have agreed to (along with additional information necessary to prepare all of the required forms and documents) and our Vestavia divorce attorneys need you to return it to us in order to get the process started.

The process of filing for a no-contest divorce is fairly simple. When you call us, then our Vestavia divorce attorney can answer any questions you may have over the phone and an in-office consultation is usually not necessary.  However, both you and your spouse must have reached an agreement in order to file for an uncontested divorce.

If an agreement cannot be reached and you wish to get divorced, then you will likely have to file a contested divorce.  This is where one party files for divorce and serves the other party with the divorce paperwork.  The other spouse, once served, has a limited amount of time to respond and if they do not, then the filing party may be able to receive their divorce by default.  If the other party does respond, then there will usually be hearings set and a contested divorce will begin.  A contested divorce continues until both parties either reach an agreement as to all contested issues or have a trial and let the judge in their case decide these issues for them.

Our Vestavia divorce lawyer can help you get a contested divorce, but the fees are much higher. Our divorce attorney requires a retainer up front in most cases. The divorce attorney then bills out of that retainer at an hourly rate until he or she has worked enough so that the retainer is empty. At that point you have to refill the retainer in order for the attorney to keep working on the case. Call us today and speak with our Vestavia divorce attorney who will conduct a quick phone consultation and quote you a retainer fee for your particular case.

It is always cheaper and simpler to reach an agreement beforehand and file an uncontested divorce, but if that is not possible then call our Vestavia divorce lawyers to discuss the contested divorce process in your county.

Even in a quick and easy uncontested divorce, each county can have different document requirements, so it is important to have a local divorce lawyer file your cheap divorce in Vestavia, Alabama.  If you reside in Vestavia, then your divorce will most likely be filed in Jefferson County Domestic Relations Court which has specific divorce requirements that other counties may not have. For example, when filing a cheap and easy divorce in Jefferson County there are certain documents that must have language included in them that are unique to that county.  If you are filing a cheap divorce in Vestavia Hills, then there are very specific requirements concerning when your divorce documents should be signed and filed.  If these requirements are not met, and the proper motions and other pleadings are not filed in the proper way, then they are likely to dismiss your case and you will have to file it all over again.

If you are using an online divorce document preparation program, then they will usually not have such county-specific language in them and it can cause your divorce to be dismissed by the judge assigned to your case.  Our Vestavia divorce lawyers are familiar with all of these local rules and will work to ensure that all documents are filed correctly and in compliance with the local rules.  This is why an actual Vestavia uncontested divorce attorney is necessary and having a national online document preparation company prepare your divorce documents may not be the best decision.

If you live in Vestavia or the surrounding areas of Bessemer, Mountain Brook, Hueytown, Fairfield, Irondale, Pinson, Fultondale, Homewood, or Hoover then you will likely file your divorce in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County.  The Jefferson County Courthouse has a filing fee that must be paid when a divorce is filed.  If you call our Vestavia divorce attorneys today, then we can answer any questions you may have, including helping to determine what courthouse to file your divorce in.

While we encourage uncontested divorces whenever possible since it’s a much simpler process, our divorce attorneys also handle contested divorces in Vestavia. This is the appropriate filing when a mutual agreement is not reached beforehand and you have your spouse served with the Complaint. Typically, following the serving, the spouse finds an attorney to represent them and files a response. Hearings are then set and your disagreements are ultimately decided by a judge.

At The Harris Firm, our divorce lawyers will help you file a contested divorce properly. Unlike the uncontested route, the contested divorce attorney fees are significantly higher. As most family law firms do, our divorce attorneys in Vestavia require a retainer for contested divorce services. The lawyer then bills hourly and the amount billed each month, of course, depends on the amount of work performed.

Contested divorce retainers are thousands of dollars and exactly how much depends on the circumstances in your case. When there are minor children involved, retainers are generally more than without children, however there are other factors that affect your retainer quote in the end. Feel free to reach out to our office today. We can go over your case and inform you of the retainer required upfront to begin working on your case.  If you live in Vestavia or the surrounding areas within Jefferson County, then you will likely be filing in the Jefferson County Courts.

At The Harris Firm, LLC, we have the local experience that you can trust. Our local Vestavia divorce attorney regularly files divorces in Jefferson and Shelby County. They are a member of the local Birmingham Bar Association and the Central Alabama Better Business Bureau. If you call our Vestavia divorce lawyer today at (205) 201-1789 or contact us online, then we can answer any questions you may have, including helping to determine what courthouse to file your divorce in. Our firm handles divorce cases in Vestavia, Jefferson County, Shelby County, and beyond.