Location: Alabama
Hi, all. I'm here with a question regarding custody law in my state. I live in Alabama, where the age of majority is technically 19. I have an 18-year-old son who moved out of his mother's house in November after years of dealing with a emotionally abusive relationship. We divorced in the early 2000s and my ex-wife was given sole physical and legal custody via settlement agreement. I didn't actually want the custody situation to be that way, but I couldn't afford a lawyer and the pro bono lawyer representing me basically said, "You either sign this or we have to go to court and I have to charge you a boatload of money," which I did not have.
Originally, my son was just planning to spend more time at my home at his therapist's recommendation, because he was suffering from severe depression and suicidal ideation related to his relationship with his mother and his mother's home. His therapist called me during one of his sessions and relayed all of this to me and then relayed it all to my son's mother. Despite her claiming that she was in agreement with the therapist's recommendations regarding giving my son his space and not putting a deadline on when he should return home, she filed a contempt petition at the beginning of the year stating that I should be held in contempt for refusing to force my son to return to her home. Since my son turns 19 in September, there didn't seem to be a need to modify the custody order and my ex-wife had never requested that we do so. It seemed like a silly expense when we were all in agreement that my son stay here until he turns 19.
From everything I have been able to gather and understand, while the age of majority is 19, when it comes to custody and juvenile law, people who are 18 years old are free to leave their parent's residence and move somewhere else, even if there is an existing custody order. However, I'm struggling to find any sort of official resource stating one way or the other. An attorney we consulted told us that judge's don't typically order an 18 year old back to a parent's house unless they can prove that the non-custodial parent is a danger to the child, but I'm trying to find any information I can for the state of Alabama supporting the fact that an 18-year-old is afforded freedom of movement, basically, and that he cannot be forced to return to his mother's home.
So, my question is for anyone familiar with law in Alabama: Is it true that 18-year-olds are afforded the freedom to leave their custodial parent's home in spite of a custody order?