Opelika Alabama Legal Blog

If you have suffered serious injuries in a car accident, you may understandably worry that your life will never be the same. Depending on the exact injuries you suffered, you could face physical hardships, financial struggles and emotional turmoil. As you work to recover, you may be exploring your options for handling all of these repercussions.

Of course, as you recover, you may come to realize that, as your physical and emotional states improve, your financial hardships are only becoming more overwhelming. As a result, you could find yourself looking into filing a personal injury claim against the driver considered at fault for the accident that led to your injuries.

Getting the right amount of spousal support is important for the person paying and the recipient. When the payer has a steady, reliable income, determining the proper amount may not be too difficult. However, when someone has a variable income or earns from multiple sources, this family law matter can become a lot more complicated.

For example, many companies offer bonuses to new hires as well as to current employees who exceed expectations. It is not uncommon for a bonus to come with a clawback provision. Employees who leave a company early or who fail to meet performance criteria may have to repay that bonus. This means that if a person's clawback bonus was divided as marital property and the person has to later repay it, he or she may be solely responsible for repaying the pre-tax amount. Including precise language in a divorce settlement can outline when both parties might need to split the cost of paying back that bonus and when the recipient would be solely responsible.

An Alabama police officer recently lost his job after he allegedly made a false report regarding a shooting. The officer is charged with discharging a firearm within city limits, false reporting, and criminal mischief. This is apparently not the first time he has been accused of making a false report or mishandling aspects of his job, but it does appear to be the first time he has been charged for violating criminal law.

On July 21, the police officer in question called for assistance near a railroad crossing. He alerted other officers of shots fired at the location but did not complete his message to the dispatcher before going silent. Another police officer located the man's patrol vehicle a short while later, which he noted had bullet holes. The officer who made the call for assistance was found, not at the vehicle, but somewhere down the tracks.

Summer break is rapidly coming to an end. All across Alabama, students and their families are buying school supplies and getting ready to head back to school for the fall semester. While this might seem like a straightforward process that happens year after year, it can be difficult for divorced, high-conflict parents. Here are a few ways in which family law might provide further guidance on this strained period of time.

A high-conflict divorce is defined as one in which the divorcing parties engage in ongoing and unrelenting malice. Malicious words and acts continue on even after the divorce is finalized, and there are often recurring court actions regarding both unsubstantiated and valid allegations.