Child Custody And Child Support

Custody is “the charge and control of a child, including the right to make all major decisions regarding education, religious upbringing, training, health and welfare.” Custody can mean physical custody or legal custody. Who will the child live with? Who will have a say in how the child raised? These are important questions with no one-size-fits all answer. Custody, visitation and support are all affected by many things, and each arrangement is specific to the unique circumstances in the family.

Being “awarded custody” means that one parent has primary custodial care: The child lives with them and the parent is responsible for the child’s daily care. Daily interaction and care have a direct and long-lasting impact on the child’s well-being and development. Your children are the most important thing in your life, and this decision is not to be taken lightly. The best interest of the child is always worth pursuing. 

What Is Child Support In Alabama?

Child support is a monthly payment. The parent who does not have full time custody or the “noncustodial parent” pays a specific amount of money each month to the custodial parent. This monthly payment is to cover or help with the cost of caring for the child, which can mean the mortgage, the food, transportation, education-related costs, clothes and any other related debts. When a judge awards sole custody to one parent, which can happen in a divorce, the noncustodial parent is required pay to care for the child by making monetary payment. By caring for the child full time and providing a home, the custodial parent meets his or her support obligation. Child support is the right of the child – not the parent. In Alabama it is never possible to “sign away the right” to monthly child support payments.

When To Establish Paternity In Alabama

In paternity cases, a court establishes the legal father of a child and the rights and duties that accompany fatherhood, including custody, visitation and child support. A child’s biological father is not always the legal father. When a child is born in Alabama, the mother’s name automatically appears on the birth certificate. If she is married, her husband is legally presumed to be the baby’s father (the putative father). However, it is possible in Alabama to have the courts recognize another man who is not the mother’s husband as the legal father of a child. When a couple is not married, it is especially important for all concerned – for the mother, for the father and above all for the child – to establish paternity.

Moving With The Children

If a parent who has custody wants to move to a new home a significant distance away, Alabama law generally requires that parent to give the noncustodial parent a minimum amount of notice prior to the anticipated move. The purpose of this notice is to give the noncustodial parent an opportunity to go to court and seek a judge’s order restraining the relocation of the child. The best interests of the child have always been central to the decision to allow or disallow the move. Issues involving two or more different states are governed by the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) and the Federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA). In these cases, it is in your best interest to consult with a family law attorney who handles move-aways and support modifications. 

Get In Touch With An Experienced Child Custody Attorney Today

If you have questions about child custody and visitation guidelines, child support requests and enforcement, or what to do in cases where parental relocation could affect a child custody order, contact John V. Martine, Attorney at Law. Firm principal John V. Martine has over a decade of Alabama family law experience. He will answer all your questions. Call our Winfield office at 205-606-6788 or send an email to schedule and initial consultation. Se habla español.