SB270 - Alabama Covenant Marriage Act

• Creates a voluntary covenant marriage option in Alabama for couples who declare their intent on the marriage license application and execute a declaration of intent.

• Requires couples entering a covenant marriage to complete premarital counseling covering the nature, purposes, and responsibilities of marriage, plus obtain a notarized attestation from their counselor.

• Limits divorce grounds for covenant marriages to: adultery, felony conviction with hard labor/death sentence, one-year abandonment, abuse of spouse or child, two years of continuous separation, or one year separation after a separation from bed and board judgment (one and a half years if minor children involved).

• Mandates the Attorney General create an informational pamphlet explaining covenant marriage consequences, to be provided by counselors to engaged couples.

• Becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage and Governor approval.