| A | B |
|---|
| Adoption | Voluntarily take a child of other parents as one's own child |
| Alimony | Money paid to support a former spouse |
| Annulment | One way to end a marriage |
| Bigamy | Married to two people at the same time |
| Child support | Payments to support a child (NALS) |
| Common law marriage | Marriage without a license |
| Community property | Property acquired during a marriage |
| Divorce | Marriage dissolution; sometimes contested and with fault like abandonment, abuse, infidelity. |
| Emancipation | When a child is out on his/her own |
| Foster care | State pays someone to temporarily take care of a child |
| Guardian ad litem | Person appointed by the court to represent the interests of a child |
| Independent adoption | A privately arranged adoption |
| Joint custody | Divorced parents sharing child rearing |
| Legal custody | Right to make decisions about a child's life without consulting the ex |
| No-fault divorce | A divorce that breaks through no fault of either party |
| Paternity suit | A lawsuit to establish who the father is |
| Petition for divorce (dissolution) | Document filed to initiate a divorce |
| Prenuptial agreement | Contract before marriage to ensure fairness if it doesn't work |
| Property settlement | Division of property |
| Restraining order | Court order to keep someone away |
| Visitation rights | Right for the ex to visit his/her child |
| Physical custody | Rght of a parent to have the child(en)actually live in their home. |
| Marital property | Property and debt that a husband and wife acquire during marriage for the benefit of the marriage and may include property acquired when the couple lived together before marriage. |
| Dissolution | A mutual agreement to end a marriage. |
| No-fault divorce | Reason for the divorce is not contested such as irreconcilable differences. |
| Separate property | Property and debt that is not considered marital property usually acquired by inheritance or before marriage. |
| Community property | Property owned jointly in a marriage. |
| Spousal support | Money paid by a divorced husband or wife to the ex-spouse for personal support. |
| Scheduling order | order issued by your trial court judge telling you the date of the trial and the setting the deadlines for the case. |
| Co-habitation | Two people living together in an intimate relationship, without being married. |
| QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) | Order that provides instructions to the retirement plan administrator about how to pay you your share of the benefits out of the plan. |
| Pro se | Latin term that mean representing yourself in court. |
| Obligor | The person who is paying child support. |
| Obligee | The person who is receiving child support. |
| CR 2A Stipulation and/or Agreement | Stipulated agreement that has to be presented to court to be enforceable |
| Messenger service | Delivering a copy of a legal document to the person on the other side of your case. |
| Process service | Having a third-party deliver and serve a person or business with legal documents. |
| Domicile | Location of a person's permanent home; different from residence (where someone lives) |
| Ceremonial marriage | Form of marriage in which a couple follows laws and procedures specified by the state; may include a wedding |
| Common law marriage | Form of marriage in which a couple lives together and holds themselves out as married |
| Putative spouse | A person who has cohabited with another to whom he is not legally married in the good faith belief that he/she was married to that person. |
| Irreconcilable differences | A reason for a dissolution or legal separation; aka irretrievable breakdown |
| UCCJEA | A uniform model rule vesting jurisidiction of child custody cases to the child's home state |
| Response | Answer to a dissolution petition |
| Case schedule | order issued by your trial court judge telling you the date of the trial and the setting the deadlines for the case. |
| Arrears | Money owed that is unpaid and overdue. |
| Certified mail | Certified mail is a type of special delivery by the post office; use when sending important, time-sensitive documents |
| Filing fee or fee schedule | The amount paid to the court for filing dissolution petition (2013 $290) |
| Step-Up Program | A nationally recognized domestic violence counseling program for teens. |
| Mandatory forms | Special forms that must be used in Washington for disssolutions and child custody. |
