Creating an Alabama Custody Schedule

When creating a custody schedule in Alabama, you can find child custody laws in Chapter 3, Title 30 of The Code of Alabama. Although these laws do not specify exactly how you should split parenting time, they do have guidelines that can help you make decisions for your schedule. Chapter 3, Section 30-3-1 has some laws that affect parents. They include:

• The court has authority to grant custody to either parent when the separation is voluntarily;

• The court will consider each parent's moral fitness, each parent's ability to care for the child and the child's gender and age when determining which parent gets custody;

• If a wife abandons her husband, the husband gets custody after the child is seven years of age.

As you go through making your schedule for custody, you will see why you need to know these particular laws. You should decide custody matters based on what is best for your child. Section 30-3-152 has some definitions you need to know for your custody schedule. Those definitions are:

• When a child lives with one parent and has visitation with the other, it is called sole physical custody.

• When parents share physical custody so that there is frequent and substantial contact with both parents, it is called joint physical custody.

• The term joint custody means that the parents share legal and physical custody.

• The court prefers joint custody schedules and will consider a joint schedule in every case.

From the above information, you should set up a custody schedule that gives your child frequent and substantial contact with both parents. If you do not want your schedule to allow the other parent to have frequent contact, you must show the court why sole custody is better for your child. The court will ultimately make all custody decisions based on the child's best interests. When the court decides if a sole or joint custody schedule is best, it will consider the following factors:

• Each parent's ability to cooperate with each other and make joint decisions,

• The geographic proximity of each parent's homes,

• If the parents have been able to successfully utilize a joint custody arrangement, and

• If there has been any history of spousal or child abuse, or kidnapping of the child.

You should address these factors in court as you show the judge which schedule will work best for your child. You may also bring up your child's specific needs and explain how either arrangement helps or hurts the parents meeting those needs. Alabama does not have specific requirements for your custody schedule, so you can include as much detail as you want. Generally, parents include an everyday schedule, a holiday schedule and vacation time. Some parents use provisions about transportation, exchanges, making schedule changes, etc.

If you and the other parent can agree on an Alabama custody schedule, the court will most likely accept it. The only reason the court would not accept it if they think it is not in your child's best interests. If you and the other parent cannot agree, you each make your own schedule and show it to the court. Then, the court has the authority to decide what the custody arrangements will be. Once the court makes that decision, it will become a custody order and both parents must follow it.

Work together as much as possible to create a custody schedule in Alabama and make it in your child's best interests.