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Legal Information: Alabama

Custody

Updated: 
September 1, 2023

What is custody?

Custody is the legal responsibility for the care and supervision of a minor child, including the power to make major decisions about the child. Unlike other states where a “minor child” is a child who is less than 18 years old, in Alabama a “minor child” is a child who is less than 19 years old.1

When a court issues a custody order, it will generally address it in two parts: legal custody and physical custody.2

1 See Alabama Code § 26-1-1(a)
2 See Alabama Code § ​30-3-151