Title 30

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, venue of all proceedings for petitions or other actions seeking modification, interpretation, or enforcement of a final decree awarding custody of a child or children to a parent and/or granting visitation rights, and/or awarding child sup…

(a) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) SUPPORT. Support of any child, with respect to whom a support order exists, and support of a spouse or former spouse with respect to whom a support order exists where incidental to an order of…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law regarding post-judgment interest, the parent responsible for making child support payments who has been delinquent in making the payments may petition the court that entered the order for child support or the appropriate court pursua…

(a) The Department of Human Resources, Child Support Enforcement Division, may establish a program for the publication, in newspapers with general circulation throughout the state, of a listing of 10 child support obligors in any county who are delinquent in their support payment…

(a) A military deployment, including past, previous, or future deployments, may not be considered by the court as the sole factor when making an original child custody determination, or in modifying an existing child custody determination, in any proceeding involving any person w…

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) CLERK OF THE COURT. Any circuit court clerk, district court clerk or juvenile court clerk, or their employees, with responsibility for docketing or otherwise carrying out the court’s clerical duti…

(a) Any provision of Section 8-5-21, to the contrary notwithstanding, any original decree, judgment, or order issued by a court of this state for the payment of support, any decree or judgment entered pursuant to a petition to modify an original decree or award of support, any de…

(a) Section 8-5-21 to the contrary notwithstanding, and in addition to and independent of any other remedy provided by law for the enforcement of support, the obligee, district attorney, or representative of the Department of Human Resources may file with a court of this state, a…

(a) When a petition seeking an order of income withholding as provided in subsection (a) of Section 30-3-62 is initiated in any case which does not arise pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, there shall be collected, by the clerk of the court, the filing fee prescri…

Within 14 days of the service of an income withholding order upon an employer, the employer shall file an answer with the court which issued the order. The answer shall state whether or not the obligor is employed by the employer and whether the employer has in his or its possess…

(a) An obligee shall notify the clerk of the court, or the Department of Human Resources or its designee, whichever office is collecting the support payments which have been ordered withheld, of any change in address of the obligee. (b) If the clerk of the court, the department o…

The obligor and any employer upon whom an income withholding order has actually been served, including successive employers, shall notify the court office collecting the support payments of any changes in employment and the name and address, if known, of any new employer or of an…

Any order to withhold income issued and served upon any employer of the obligor pursuant to this article shall have priority over any writ of garnishment or any other state legal process against the same income of the obligor whether the writ of garnishment or other process was s…

No employer who complies with an order under this article according to its terms shall be liable to the obligor or to any other person claiming rights derived from the obligor for wrongful withholding. (Acts 1984, No. 84-445, p. 1035, §9.)

An employer who willfully fails or refuses to withhold or pay the amounts as ordered may be held to be in contempt of court. Additionally, such employer may be personally liable to the obligee for failure to answer or withhold, and in such cases conditional and final judgment for…

An employer who pays his or her employee in a manner intending to protect the wages of the employee from being garnished or withheld for the purpose of or the collection of child support payments owed by the employee shall be personally liable for the amount of child support owed…

No employer shall discharge an employee or refuse to hire a person because of the entry of an order of withholding or service of the same under this article. Any employer who violates this section may be held to be in contempt of court. (Acts 1984, No. 84-445, p. 1035, §11.)

The employer shall be authorized to deduct from the obligor’s income a fee of up to $2 per month for expenses incurred under this article. (Acts 1984, No. 84-445, p. 1035, §12.)

There is hereby created a civil action to establish an order of retroactive support which may be brought against a non-supporting parent who has a duty to support as the legal parent of a child or children but has failed to provide support. The action may be brought by the parent…

The action shall be commenced prior to the time the child or children reaches the age of majority. (Acts 1994, No. 94-213, p. 298, §2.)

An action for retroactive support shall be filed in the juvenile or family court division of the district or circuit court in the county in which the parent or guardian resides or in the county in which the child resides. There shall be no right to a jury trial. (Acts 1994, No. 9…

An order of retroactive support may be awarded against the non-supporting parent irrespective of the marital status of the parties. (Acts 1994, No. 94-213, p. 298, §4.)

The order of retroactive support shall be a sum certain judgment and may cover all periods in which the non-supporting parent failed to provide support. For all time periods in which support is requested, the court shall consider the needs of the child or children and the ability…

The action for retroactive support authorized by this article is in addition to any rights to retroactive support granted by any other provision of law including, but not limited to, Section 26-17-8 nor shall the provisions of the article limit or affect the state’s right to reco…

For the purposes of this article “domestic or family abuse” means an incident resulting in the abuse, stalking, assault, harassment, or the attempt or threats thereof. “Abuse” means any offense under Article 4 of Chapter 6 of this title or Chapter 15 of Title 26. “Stalking” means…

In every proceeding where there is at issue a dispute as to the custody of a child, a determination by the court that domestic or family violence has occurred raises a rebuttable presumption by the court that it is detrimental to the child and not in the best interest of the chil…

(a) In addition to other factors that a court is required to consider in a proceeding in which the custody of a child or visitation by a parent is at issue and in which the court has made a finding of domestic or family violence the court shall consider each of the following: (1)…

In every proceeding where there is at issue a dispute as to the custody of a child, a determination by the court that domestic or family violence has occurred raises a rebuttable presumption by the court that it is in the best interest of the child to reside with the parent who i…

In every proceeding in which there is at issue the modification of an order for custody or visitation of a child, a finding that domestic or family violence has occurred since the last custody determination constitutes a finding of change in circumstances. (Acts 1995, No. 95-629,…

(a) A court may award visitation by a parent who committed domestic or family violence only if the court finds that adequate provision for the safety of the child and the parent who is a victim of domestic or family violence can be made. (b) In a visitation order, a court may tak…

The provisions of this article are supplemental and shall be construed in pari materia with other laws relating to civil and criminal procedure. (Acts 1995, No. 95-629, p. 1332, §7.)

Joint Custody. It is the policy of this state to assure that minor children have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of their children and to encourage parents to share in the rights and responsibilities of rearing t…

For the purposes of this article the following words shall have the following meanings: (1) JOINT CUSTODY. Joint legal custody and joint physical custody. (2) JOINT LEGAL CUSTODY. Both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child, includ…

(a) The court shall in every case consider joint custody but may award any form of custody which is determined to be in the best interest of the child. In determining whether joint custody is in the best interest of the child, the court shall consider the same factors considered …

(a) In order to implement joint custody, the court shall require the parents to submit, as part of their agreement, provisions covering matters relevant to the care and custody of the child, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) The care and education of the ch…

Unless otherwise prohibited by court order or statute, all records and information pertaining to the child, including, but not limited to, medical, physiological, dental, scholastic, athletic, extracurricular, and law enforcement, shall be equally available to both parents, in al…

In making a determination of child support, the court shall apply Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration. (Acts 1996, No. 96-520, p. 666, §6.)

The fact that joint custody has been awarded to both parents shall not preclude a court from finding that one parent has committed the crime of interference with custody as provided in Section 13A-6-45, or has violated the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act as…

This article shall not be construed as grounds for modification of an existing order. This article shall not be construed as affecting the standard applicable to a subsequent modification. (Acts 1996, No. 96-520, p. 666, §8.)

This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Alabama Parent-Child Relationship Protection Act” and promotes the general philosophy in this state that children need both parents, even after a divorce, established in Section 30-3-150. (Act 2003-364, p. 1017, §1.)

As used in this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires a different definition: (1) CHANGE OF PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE. A change of the residence of a child whose custody has been determined by a prior court order, whethe…

(a) Except as provided otherwise by this chapter, the provisions of this article apply to all orders determining custody of or visitation with a child whether such order was issued before or after September 1, 2003. To the extent that a provision of this article conflicts with an…

Except as provided by Section 30-3-167, a person who has the right to establish the principal residence of the child shall provide notice to every other person entitled to custody of or visitation with a child of a proposed change of the child’s principal residence as required by…

Except as provided by Section 30-3-167, a person entitled to custody of or visitation with a child shall provide notice to every other person entitled to custody of or visitation with a child of an intended change in his or her principal residence as required by subsection (b) of…

(a) When a notice is required by either Section 30-3-163 or Section 30-3-164, except as provided by Section 30-3-167, the notice of a proposed change of principal residence of a child or the notice of an intended or proposed change of the principal residence of an adult as provid…

After September 1, 2003, every child custody determination shall include the following language: “Alabama law requires each party in this action who has either custody of or the right of visitation with a child to notify other parties who have custody of or the right of visitatio…