An uncontested divorce in Alabama can wrap up in as little as six weeks. A contested one can consume the better part of a year — or longer. That gap represents hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars, and months of uncertainty that touch every part of daily life, from where your children sleep to how…
Alabama requires just 30 days between the filing of a divorce complaint and the earliest date a judge can sign a final decree — one of the shortest mandatory waiting periods of any state in the country. Yet the gap between that legal minimum and reality is often wide. Some couples walk away with a…
Alabama family court judges do not flip a coin when deciding which parent receives custody. Every ruling follows a structured evaluation rooted in a legal standard known as the “best interests of the child,” and the specific criteria that fall under that standard are collectively referred to as the Alabama custody factors. Yet many parents…
Alabama’s family courts process thousands of divorce cases each year, and a significant portion involve contested custody disputes where both parents believe they deserve primary placement. Judges do not make these decisions based on gut feelings or personal preference. Instead, they follow a defined set of criteria rooted in the child’s best interests, and the…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alabama consistently ranks among the top ten states in the nation for divorce rates. For thousands of Alabama residents each year, the decision to end a marriage brings an overwhelming wave of legal, financial, and personal decisions that must be addressed in a compressed timeline. A…
The man who pulled the trigger received a life sentence. The man who was outside the store when the shot was fired could soon be put to death by the state of Alabama. Charles “Sonny” Burton, now 75 years old, awaits execution for his participation in a robbery that took place more than three decades…
A Mobile County, Alabama mother and her two children have been missing since Friday, January 30, after authorities discovered signs of a struggle inside their residence and believe the family was taken against their will. Aurelia Choc Cac, 40, her 17-year-old daughter Niurka Zuleta, and her 2-year-old son Anthony Garcia Choc were last seen at…
A University of Alabama freshman reportedly suffered multiple skull fractures and other serious injuries after a fall while on vacation with his family in the Dominican Republic during the winter holidays. Matthew Polaski was home on winter break from his first year at the University of Alabama when the incident occurred. A GoFundMe page set…
A Republican-sponsored bill that would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for people convicted of certain child sex crimes has cleared its second hurdle in the Alabama Senate’s Judiciary Committee. House Bill 41 heads to the full Senate chamber, where lawmakers will decide whether to send it to Governor Kay Ivey to sign into…
Grief Turned to Action After a Devastating Loss Nearly six years after Theodore High School senior Devinee Rooney was killed in a multi-vehicle crash, her family continues fighting for tougher penalties in Alabama for impaired driving fatalities. Their efforts have centered on House Bill 243, a piece of legislation that would impose stronger consequences in…