Adoption is a process whereby a person legally assumes the parenting of another from that person’s biological or legal parents and permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from those biological or legal parents. Typically, adoptions involve children, but can also apply to adults over the age of nineteen. Open adoptions allow the parents to …
A divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage by a court. It is also the process of terminating the marriage or marital union. The legal duties or responsibilities of the parties once the divorce is final are set out in a Settlement Agreement or by the court in an Order. Divorce commonly involves issues …
Biography Paige Yarbrough is a cum laude graduate of Samford University where she earned her undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Spanish. She went on to earn her Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University in 2012. While attending law school, Paige was on the editorial board of the American Journal of Trial …
If parties want to live apart, but wish to remain legally married, they would enter into a legal separation. The legal separation is a written agreement or a court order setting out the terms under which the parties will live. A legal separation does not formally dissolve the marriage and does not permit the parties …
Biography Deborah Gregory was born in California and has also lived in Texas and Florida before making Birmingham her home. Deborah graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in Marketing in 1988. After working in sales for many years, Deborah obtained her paralegal certificate and worked with three well-respected litigation defense firms in Birmingham. With the encouragement …
An annulment is a judicial declaration that a marriage is void and establishes that the marital status never existed or a marriage never occurred. In Alabama, there are limited grounds for an annulment. If one of these legal grounds cannot be proven, the Court may determine that the marriage was valid and the parties …
Postnuptial Agreements are similar to a Prenuptial Agreements, but are entered into during the marriage to define each party’s rights in the event of death or divorce. These agreements are typically entered into at a time during the marriage when divorce is not imminent. If the parties have already contemplated divorce, they would most likely …
Prenuptial (or Premarital) Agreements are an agreement entered into prior to marriage to resolve issues that may arise in the event of a divorce. The purpose is to vary the provisions that the law would allow. To be valid, these agreements must follow certain requirements to guarantee that they are fair and proper. The Uniform …
Biography Nicole Saia grew up in Virginia and moved to Birmingham in 1998 to attend law school. Nicole is a graduate of Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA where she earned her undergraduate degree. She went on to earn her Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University in 2001. While a law student, Nicole …
It is extremely frustrating when child support payments are interrupted or suddenly stop. If there is an existing order for child support, a parent can file a “Rule Nisi” petition asking the Court to issue civil and criminal penalties against the parent who has stopped paying. A parent can also call the Department of Human …
