Our goal is to help our clients understand the legal process. We know that court documents are often full of unfamiliar legal jargon, so we have created this index to help explain some common family law terms.
Arrearage– past due child support or spousal maintenance that has been ordered by the court, but has not been paid in full.
Common Law Marriage– a marriage that occurs through the parties representing themselves to the public as being married and agreeing that they are married, rather than through a formal ceremony
Contempt– violation of a court order
Custody– the legal right to make decisions regarding a child, including school enrollment and medical treatment
Direct Expenses– necessary expenses incurred to support a child, which may include school expenses, extracurricular activity expenses, and clothing, but do not include food or housing expenses
Divided Residency– when one or more children reside with one parent while their sibling(s) reside with the other parent
Joint Custody– equal rights to make decisions regarding a child
Domestic Conciliation (previously Limited Case Management)- occurs when the parties meet with a neutral third party, who will attempt to assist the parties in negotiating an agreement, but will write a recommendation regarding what the court should order regarding a limited number of disputed issues if no agreement is reached
Mediation– occurs when the parties meet with a neutral third party to attempt to negotiate an agreement
Parenting Time– previously called “visitation,” this is the time that the non-residential parent spends with the child
Paternity– a legal determination of a child’s father
Primary Residential Placement– when a child resides primarily with one parent, but may have parenting time with the other parent
Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)– a court order drafted to divide a retirement account after the division of the account is ordered in a decree of divorce or separate maintenance
Residential Placement– designation of which parent the child resides with, which may be primary residential placement, shared residential placement, or divided residency
Separate Maintenance– a third alternative to divorce or annulment that results in a married couple being legally separated, but continuing to be married
Shared Residential Placement– when a child resides with both parents an equal, or nearly equal, amount of time
Sole Custody– the sole right to make decisions in the best interest of a child
Spousal Maintenance– also known as “alimony,” spousal support is based when the court finds that one spouse needs financial support to pay his or her monthly bills following a separation, and that the other spouse has the ability to provide financial support