Family Law Legal Terms
Family law terms covering divorce, custody, child support, alimony, and other domestic relations legal concepts.
29 terms in this category
Alimony
Court-ordered financial support paid by one spouse to the other during or after divorce, also known as spousal support or maintenance.
Annulment
A court ruling that a marriage was never legally valid, treating it as if it did not exist, as opposed to a divorce, which ends a valid marriage.
Child Custody
The legal arrangement determining where children will live and who will make important decisions about their upbringing after parents separate or divorce.
Child Support
Ongoing payments made by a non-custodial parent to help cover the costs of raising their child, typically continuing until the child reaches adulthood.
Collaborative Divorce
An out-of-court process in which each spouse hires a lawyer trained in collaborative law and all agree in writing to work toward a negotiated settlement, with the lawyers withdrawing if the case goes to court.
Community Property
A system of marital property law, used in a minority of states, under which most property and income acquired by either spouse during the marriage belongs to both spouses equally.
Contested Divorce
A divorce in which the spouses disagree about one or more issues, such as property division, support, custody or parenting time, so the issues must be resolved through negotiation, mediation or a decision by the court.
Dissipation of Assets
The waste, depletion or concealment of marital assets by one spouse for a purpose unrelated to the marriage, typically when the marriage is breaking down, which a court can take into account when dividing property.
Divorce
The legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body, ending the marital relationship and dividing assets, debts, and responsibilities.
Domestic Violence
A pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner.
Equitable Distribution
The system most states use to divide marital property and debts in a divorce, in which the court splits the marital estate in a way it finds fair, which is not always an equal split.
Financial Affidavit
A sworn statement filed in a divorce or other family case that lists a party's income, expenses, assets and debts, used by the court to decide support, property division and attorney fees.
Legal Custody
The right and responsibility to make major decisions about a child's upbringing, such as education, non-emergency health care and religious training.
Legal Separation
A court process in which spouses remain legally married but live apart under court orders that can address property, debts, support, custody and parenting time.
Marital Property
Assets and debts acquired during the marriage that are subject to division in a divorce, as opposed to separate property owned before marriage or received as gifts/inheritance.
Marital Settlement Agreement
A written contract between divorcing or separating spouses that resolves the issues in their case, such as property division, debts, spousal support, child support and custody, and that is usually incorporated into the court's final judgment.
Modification
A court-approved change to an existing family law order, such as custody, parenting time, child support or alimony, usually based on a substantial change in circumstances since the order was entered.
No-Fault Divorce
A divorce in which the spouse filing does not have to prove that the other spouse did anything wrong, only that the marriage has broken down, using grounds such as irreconcilable differences or an irretrievable breakdown.
Parental Relocation
A move by a parent, with a child, that is far enough to affect an existing custody or parenting time arrangement, which in most states requires the other parent's written consent or court permission.
Parenting Plan
A written agreement between parents that outlines how they will share time with their children, make decisions, and handle disputes after separation or divorce.
Physical Custody
The right to have a child live with a parent and the responsibility for the child's day-to-day care, as set out in a custody order or parenting plan.
Postnuptial Agreement
A written contract between spouses, signed after the wedding while they intend to stay married, that sets out how property, debts and sometimes support will be handled if the marriage ends.
Prenuptial Agreement
A written contract signed by two people before they marry that sets out how property, debts and sometimes spousal support will be handled if the marriage ends by divorce or death.
Protective Order
A court order that requires one person to stay away from another, often issued in cases of domestic violence, harassment, or stalking.
Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
A court order, recognized under federal law, that directs an employer retirement plan to pay part of a participant's benefits to a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent, called the alternate payee.
Separate Property
Property that belongs to one spouse alone, typically property owned before the marriage or received during the marriage as a gift or inheritance, which is usually not divided in a divorce.
Temporary Orders (Pendente Lite)
Court orders that set rules for custody, parenting time, support, use of the home and other issues while a divorce or family case is pending, until the court enters a final judgment.
Uncontested Divorce
A divorce in which both spouses agree on all of the issues, including property, debts, support and, if they have children, custody and parenting time, so the court does not have to decide any disputed question.
Visitation (Parenting Time)
The time a parent (or in some cases another person, such as a grandparent) is scheduled to spend with a child under a court order or parenting plan, now often called parenting time or time-sharing.
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