Author: Leigh Daniel, Attorney at Law

You may think, in the course of a contemplating a divorce, that it’s going to be far easier to have an uncontested divorce. A client comes into my office, and they want an uncontested divorce. I ask them, “Are they going to agree?”. Most of the time, they aren’t sure…

I read a book recently, “What Happened to You,” written by Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Scott Perry. The book is about childhood trauma. As I read the stories contained in the book, I was reminded of the many clients I’ve seen who have been traumatized themselves or who are trying…

No offense, but I’m guessing after 28 years and thousands of divorce cases, I don’t. But it could be that you had a particularly litigious case and I do recall. Recently someone came in and retained me and she asked me, “Do you remember how my husband acted in the…

Today I was described as cut-throat.   Last week, someone told me the opposing side was “terrified of me”.  One of my clients told me his wife was angry because I was “out to get her”.  Is it a 24-hour Halloween marathon?   Do I look like the boogeyman?   I’m getting frustrated…

Everything we knew was turned upside down by Covid-19.  It’s not surprising that custody and visitation issues began cropping up soon after the pandemic.  First, we saw parents who didn’t want to follow visitation orders.   The custodial parent would deem the noncustodial parent’s home unsafe or the noncustodial would find…

In my time as a family law attorney, I have found several misconceptions that are held by the general public regarding divorce. One such misconception involves the topic of Separation. “We have to get a separation before a divorce, right?” “I’m not married anymore because we separated.” “We are going to counseling,…

Years ago, I had a client tell me the reason he was getting divorced was because his wife didn’t realize she had to quit dating when they got married. Obviously, you shouldn’t date while you are married. Right? But when is it ok to start dating? I would advise you,…

I’ve been talking about the various legal custody designations. If you haven’t read the other articles, go back and read those first. I am not going to break down all six categories of decision-making in custody agreements in Alabama. Instead, we will focus on the extracurricular activities. This one is…