Fellow family law blogger, Jeffrey Lalloway of the California Divorce and Family Law Blog, recently concluded a series of posts on what to include in your prenuptial agreement.

It is a great series (as is his blog). I emphasize numbers 2 and 12 as these are two issues that, if properly addressed, can help ensure the validity of a prenuptial agreement in Alabama (i.e. full disclosure and representation by a lawyer for both parties).

Also, when reading, keep in mind that Alabama is not a community property state like California. Thus, some of the terminology might be different, though the issues regarding the divisibilty of property would be the same. And, I must admit, I’ve not had the prenuptial in which we included number 13 (but I have seen it come up in divorces before!)

Here are the first three items on his list (check out his blog for the remainder):

1. Decide how all of your debts will be handled. This includes those debts incurred before you are married and those incurred after you are married.

2. Make sure you disclose all of your assets, liabilities, sources of income, and any other potential future assets, such as gifts or inheritances.

3. Should you divorce or die, decide who will get your primary residence or any vacation homes.

If you live in the Mobile-Baldwin County area and are going through a divorce or are about to go through a divorce, have you ever wondered what sort of visitation the non-custodial parent will be granted? It is a question that many in this situation ask about and is one that is usually easily answered, despite the differences in the way this issue is handled in our local counties.

In theory, a domestic relations and/or Juvenile Court Judge has very wide discretion to fashion particular visitation schedules in each case depending on the facts and circumstances of that case. In reality, however, most Judges in this area have developed their own “standard visitation” schedules that they put in their orders. These can vary slightly from the basic order as well. For instance, in Mobile, a Wednesday night can be added if the parties ask for it, but the Courts will not allow much more that that, despite an agreement between the parties. However in Baldwin County, Wednesday night is part of the standard order. Also, Baldwin County Judges will allow the parties to share custody where the children spend an even amount of time with each parent (two weeks with one and two weeks with the other, for example). The following are the “highlights” of the normal visitation orders in different courts in this area.

In Mobile County it is as follows:
-Every other weekend from Friday at 6pm to Sunday at 6pm.
-One month during the Summer.
-One week at Christmas beginning at 2pm on Christmas Day.
-Thanksgiving and Springbreak holidays alternate in even and odd years.

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Jim Jeffries | Mobile & Baldwin County Attorney

Jim currently is a member of the Alabama Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Child Support Guidelines and Enforcement as well as a statewide committee that has been tasked with reviewing and making recommendations for possible revisions to Alabama's version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). Jim was also recently appointed by the President of the Alabama State Bar Association to a serve on a committee whose purpose is to review and comment on Alabama legislation regarding joint custody for a proposal to the Alabama Legislature for possible changes in this legislation.

Jim has attained a Peer Review Ranking of AV from Martindale-Hubbell® - The highest an attorney can be ranked by his peers.

He continues to lecture to attorneys across the state regarding family law issues.

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Jeffries Family Law, LLC

Divorce Attorney | Child Support & Child Custody Attorney | Prenuptial Law Attorney

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Mobile, AL 36604

251-694-6000

Baldwin County

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