In Ex parte E.R.G., [Ms. 1090883, June 10, 2011] ___ So. 3d ___ (Ala. 2011) the Court found that the right of a fit parent to determine, among other things, who has contact with their child is a “fundamental”  right and therefore any law interfering with that right must pass the “strict scrutiny” test to be constitutional.  This test is the most stringent one a court applies to determine the validity of a statute and our Supreme Court held that it was not met in this case.

The question of how this ruling affects older cases where grandparent visitation has already been awarded was recently addressed in Burnette v. Burnett, [Ms. 2100935, December 9, 2011] ___So. 3d___ (Ala. Civ. App. 2011).  The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals held that a change in substantive law, such as a finding that a statute is unconstitutional, should be applied retroactively.  As a result, the court overturned a previous award of visitation to grandparents.

Interestingly, the Alabama Legislature amended the grandparent visitation statute to make it more difficult for grandparents to get visitation.  The court in Burnett mentioned this and specifically stated that they were not addressing the question of whether or not the amendments to the statute were constitutional since they were not in effect at the time of that decision.

What does this mean for parents and grandparents dealing with visitation issues?  It’s good for parents and definitely not good for grandparents.  Any parent who does not want to continue sending their child to visit grandparents can now file a motion to terminate that visitation order and have a good chance of succeeding.  Grandparents who are still willing to fight for visitation will have to rely on the recent amendments to the statute and be willing to defend the constitutionality of those amendments until our courts determine whether the statute will survive.

It turns out she was having a Skype video conversation with her Uncle who lives in Boston, Massachusetts.  As I leaned in to view the screen I saw my brother-in-law and also saw myself in the bottom of the screen.  I waved and said hello and he did the same back to me.  Amazing!

I have had several opportunities to put provisions in agreement divorces or relocation case settlements that obligate one party or the other to have broadband connections to facilitate communications with the other non-custodial parent but this was my first personal experience with it in video form.  It really was a great way to communicate and was much better than a simple phone call would have been.

Alabama has no statutory obligation requiring a court to consider Skype or other forms of ”virtual visitaion.”  I am also not aware of a published opinion where this was required by a judge after a hearing.  However, with the economy being in the condition it is, causing both custodial and non-custodial parents to consider relocating to find jobs, the technology that allows this sort of communication can help improve an otherwise bad situation.  The technology has defenitely come a long way.  Video conversations are certaily no substitution for spending time with your children but they absolutely can help give the feeling that your children are not so far away.

If there are multiple children who are receiving support pursuant to your current order and one has turned 19,  that is a sufficient basis to modify the payor’s support.  The new order will be recalculated based on the parties’ gross monthly incomes and other A.R.J.A. 32 factors existing at that time but will not include support for the child that recently turned 19.

Here is a summary of the tips there:

1. Work through your grief
2. Recognize your survival mechanisms
3. Assess your talents
4. Start living consciously
5. Write your own story
6. Develop a project for the future
7. Plan for obstacles
8. Deal with the fears
9. Take incredible care of yourself along the way

Check out the link above to read the details for each step.  If you are recently divorced or going through a divorce now, it is worth a read.  The last tip is really what the entire article is about: taking care of yourself.  When I am helping a client go through an Alabama divorce, I try to urge them to take care of themselves mentally, phyiscally, emotionally and spiritually.  Often divorce attorneys are so focused on protecting our clients in their legal case, that it is easy to overlook these equally important issues of their health.  So, not only is this a good article for someone going through divorce, it was a good reminder to me, as a divorce lawyer, to not lose site of this important aspect of my client’s life.