Hiring a Child Custody Lawyer in Alabama
How courts in Alabama decide custody, emergency custody, parenting classes, how to check a lawyer's license, and free or low-cost family law help. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Alabama: fee rules
| Rules on contingency fees | Contingent fees are allowed except where Rule 1.5(d) or other law prohibits them. A contingent fee agreement must be in writing and state how the fee is figured, including the percentage(s) the lawyer gets on settlement, trial or appeal, what litigation and other expenses come out of the recovery, and whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee is calculated. At the end, the lawyer must give the client a written statement of the outcome and, if there is a recovery, how the client's share was determined. Lawyers may not charge fees in domestic relations matters contingent on securing a divorce or on the amount of alimony, support or property settlement, and may not charge a contingent fee to represent a criminal defendant. Fee factors also include whether there is a written fee agreement signed by the client. |
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| If a lawyer takes your money | The Alabama State Bar Client Security Fund may reimburse clients who lost money or property because of an Alabama lawyer's dishonest conduct while acting as a lawyer or fiduciary. Payment is discretionary ("a matter of grace and not of right"). The maximum is $75,000 per applicant and $200,000 for all applicants for one instance or course of dishonest conduct. Losses from malpractice or incompetence, insured losses, investments and consequential damages are excluded. Applications must be filed within three years after the applicant knew or should have known of the loss (tolled while a grievance is pending, but no later than six years). The fund is financed by a $25 annual assessment on lawyers. Application: https://www.alabar.org/assets/2025/01/CSF_Application-1.pdf |
Alabama rules to know first
| How custody is decided | Custody is decided by the best interest of the child. The court must consider joint custody in every case, looking at factors such as the parents' agreement, their ability to cooperate and make decisions together, their willingness to encourage the child's relationship with the other parent, any history of abuse or kidnapping, and how close the parents live to each other. If both parents ask for joint custody, it is presumed to be in the child's best interest. A finding of domestic or family violence creates a rebuttable presumption against giving custody to the abusive parent. State policy is that children should have frequent and continuing contact with both parents; joint custody does not necessarily mean equal time. The custody statutes read do not set an age at which a child's preference controls. |
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| Emergency custody | While a divorce is pending, the court may make orders about the children's custody as their safety and well-being require. Under the interstate custody law, an Alabama court has temporary emergency jurisdiction when the child is in Alabama and has been abandoned, or when emergency action is needed because the child, a sibling or a parent is being mistreated or abused or threatened with it. If another state has jurisdiction, the emergency order lasts only for a period the court sets so the person can get an order from that state. Ask the circuit clerk in your county how to request a temporary or emergency hearing. Source: Ala. Code §§ 30-3-1, 30-3B-204 |
| Grandparents' rights | A grandparent can ask for visitation in certain situations, such as when the parents' divorce or legal separation has been filed or the marriage has ended by death or divorce, when the child was born outside marriage (with paternity established for paternal grandparents), or when parental rights are being or have been terminated. A fit parent's decision to deny or limit visits is presumed to be in the child's best interest. To overcome this, the grandparent must prove by clear and convincing evidence a significant and viable relationship with the child and that visitation is in the child's best interest, including that losing the relationship has caused or is likely to cause harm. Source: Ala. Code § 30-3-4.2 |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service helps people who can afford to pay a lawyer find one. A representative takes basic information and gives you the name and contact details of a participating attorney in your county, if one is available; you can also request a referral online 24/7. Participating lawyers agree to "charge no more than $50 for an initial 30 minute consultation"; other fees are negotiated with the lawyer. Phone: 1-800-392-5660 (Mon-Fri, 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m.). Referrals are not made by email, and the service does not cover out-of-state matters. Also described at https://alabar.org/for-the-public/get-legal-help |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Alabama State Bar's "Find a Member" search lets anyone look up lawyers by name, city, county, state, firm or practice area. The bar notes that practice areas are self-reported and not verified, and that disciplinary history is available on the site starting from January 2018. Source: Alabama State Bar, Find a Member |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints that a lawyer violated the Rules of Professional Conduct are investigated and prosecuted by the Disciplinary Division of the Alabama State Bar's Office of General Counsel, acting for the Alabama Supreme Court. The bar publishes a complaint brochure and form for the public. A lawyer's disciplinary history is available on written request from the bar's Disciplinary Clerk (clerk@alabar.org or P.O. Box 671, Montgomery, AL 36101). Bar phone: (334) 269-1515 or toll-free (800) 354-6154. Complaint brochure and form: https://www.alabar.org/assets/2025/04/Complaint-form_brochure-2012.pdf ; Office of General Counsel: https://www.alabar.org/office-of-general-counsel/ |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Legal Services Alabama, the LSC-funded legal aid program for the state, provides free civil legal help to qualifying low-income people in all 67 counties (apply at 866-456-4995 or online); it does not handle criminal cases. Volunteer lawyer programs also take civil cases for eligible people, including the Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program at (888) 857-8571 for counties without a local program. Alabama Legal Help (alabamalegalhelp.org) offers free legal information and self-help forms. Phone numbers from https://alabar.org/for-the-public/get-legal-help |
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Last verified against official sources: October 27, 2026.
How we source this page: each state-specific rule links to the statute, court rule or official government page it comes from. A rule taken from a public copy of a state code (used only where the official code is not freely readable online) is marked as a secondary source. Spot an error? Use the contact page to report it. About our sources
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.