| A | B |
|---|
| abortion | Intentional termination of a pregnancy. |
| adoption | The legal process under a state statute by which a child is taken into one?s family and given all rights and privileges of a natural child and heir. |
| alimony | Allowance that a spouse pays for the support of the other spouse after the final divorce decree. Also known as spousal maintenance. |
| annulment | (1) The act of making void; (2)ÿthat which establishes that the marital status never existed. |
| arrears | Money which is overdue and unpaid. |
| bifurcate | To separate, split, or divide issues. |
| bigamy | Having two spouses at the same. |
| ceremonial marriage | A marriage authorized by legislative action and validated according to statutes for licensing, solemnization, and registration. |
| child support | The legal obligation of parents to contribute to the economic maintenance, including education, of their children. |
| common law marriage | A man and a woman living together in a marital status without a legal proceeding. |
| community property | Property acquired during a marriage that is owned by husband and wife, each having an undivided one-half interest. |
| consent | Agreement; voluntary acceptance of the wish of another. |
| consortium | The companionship of a spouse; the loss of consortium may be the basis for damages. |
| custody | Two kinds, legal and physical and they are different. The care and keeping of anything; in divorce (dissolution); physical care and control of a minor child. |
| decree | Document issued by a court evidencing final judgment. |
| disabled person | One who lacks legal capacity, or one who is physically or mentally unable to act in his or her own behalf or to pursue his or her normal occupation. |
| divorce/dissolution | Legal termination of a marriage. |
| domestic relations | That branch or discipline of law which deals with matters of the household or family, including divorce, separation, custody, support, and adoption. |
| domicile | The place where a person has his true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment, and to which whenever he is absent he has the intention of returning. |
| emancipated | One who is set free and made his own master. The term principally used as an emancipated minor, a person under legal age who is given legal capacity by court order or by operation of law. |
| family law | Those areas of the law pertaining to families, e.g., marriage, divorce, child custody, juvenile laws, paternity, etc. |
| foreign jurisdiction | A state other than the one where the parties live (child and custodial parent live). |
| foster care | The temporary care of a child by a person other than their own parent; can be voluntary or involuntary and is usually funded by state governments. |
| guardian ad litem | Person appointed by a court to represent a minor or incapacitated person in a legal proceeding. |
| guardian of the person | Person appointed by the court to be responsible for the physical well-being, education, and general welfare of a minor or disabled person. |
| illegitimate | Term applied to children born out of lawful wedlock. |
| incapacitated | Physically or mentally disabled. |
| incompetent | One who lacks ability, legal qualification, or fitness to manage his own affairs. |
| Interlocutory order | Preliminary or provisional order regarding only a part of the issues raised in a lawsuit. |
| invalid marriage | A marriage that is invalid from its inception. |
| joinder | A document signed by the respondent in dissolution who agrees to the terms set forth in the petition. |
| joint custody | The situation occurring when both parents are awarded custody of a child, often for specified periods of time during any one year. |
| legal custody | Parents? rights and obligation in making decisions about the child?s upbringing, such as medical care, schooling and religion. |
| legitimate | That which is legal, lawful, recognized by law, or according to law. A child or children born of persons in lawful wedlock. |
| marital property | Property acquired or earned by the spouses during the marriage. |
| marriage | A civil contract governed by state law. |
| mediation | Non-binding settlement discussions between the parties. |
| meretricious | A marriage-like relationship between a man and a woman without the benefits and responsibilities of a legal marriage. |
| minor | A person under the age of legal competence. |
| modification of decree | A procedure whereby a decree can be changed after a period of time due to a substantial change in circumstances. |
| no-fault divorce | The dissolution of a marriage on the grounds that it has irretrievably broken down. |
| noncustodial parent | The parent who does not have physical care and control of the child(ren). |
| obligee | Person to whom support is owed. |
| obligor | The person ordered to pay support. |
| original jurisdiction | The authority is granted to a court to hear and determine a matter for the first time. |
| parenting plan | A document regarding the arrangements for the children such as legal and physical custody. |
| paternity | The state of being a father. |
| paternity suit | A lawsuit filed to determine the father of a child and if paternity is confirmed, provide for the support of the child. |
| petition for dissolution | Initial document in a dissolution proceeding. |
| petitioner | Initiating party, including plaintiff. |
| physical custody | A parent?s rights concerning the residence of the child. |
| prenuptial or antenuptial agreement | One entered into by prospective spouses prior to marriage but in contemplation and in consideration thereof. |
| PKPA | Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980 |
| pro se | Term used to designate a person who represents himself in court. |
| property settlement | The provisions for dividing property owned by a married couple at the time of their separation. |
| putative | Alleged, supposed; reputed. |
| putative father | Alleged father. |
| putative spouse | A person who lives with another person of the opposite sex and believes in good faith that she/he has a common law marriage. |
| reconcile | To adjust, make, agree, as a bank statement and a check register. In family law, to resume-after a separation-full marital relations. |
| rehabilitative maintenance | Support paid by one spouse to the other for a physical or vocational disability. |
| residential plan | A document regarding the arrangements for the physical custody of the child(ren) during and after dissolution. |
| respondent | The party against whom a dissolution of marriage proceeding is initiated, including defendant. |
| response | Initial pleading of a respondent in a no-fault proceeding. |
| restraining order | A court order made upon the request of one party forbidding the other party to do something. |
| separate property | Property acquired prior to marriage or during marriage that is owned exclusively by either the husband or wife. |
| spousal maintenance/alimony | An allowance that a spouse pays for the support of the other spouse. |
| stepchild | The child of one of the spouses by a former marriage not adopted by the other spouse. |
| temporary restraining order | An order of the court to temporarily stop a party from doing something or other remedy |
| UCCJEA | Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act of 2004 is designed to deter interstate parental kidnapping. |
| UIFSA | Uniform Interstate Family Support Act of 1996; an act adopted by the majority of states to enforce duties of support in foreign jurisdictions. |
| uniform laws | Model laws approved by the Commissioners on Uniform State Laws that are often adopted, in whole or in part by individual states |
| visitation rights | The right granted by the court that allows or permits a noncustodial parent to visit child or children. |
