PPC1 Family Law key terms

The initial pleading that starts a divorce case, stating the grounds, the parties, and what the petitioner wants the court to order regarding status, property, support, and children.

The legally recognized reason a court may end a marriage. Most states allow no-fault grounds such as irreconcilable differences; some still permit fault grounds like adultery or cruelty.

A no-fault basis for divorce meaning the spouses' conflict is substantial and permanent enough that the marriage cannot continue. The petitioner need not prove misconduct by either spouse.

A dissolution system in which the court ends a marriage without requiring proof that one spouse did something wrong, focusing instead on breakdown of the relationship or a waiting period.

The date the court's judgment legally ends the marriage, which fixes rights such as remarriage, survivor benefits, and the cutoff for classifying property as marital or separate.

The final court order ending a marriage and resolving the accompanying issues, including property division, support, and custody. It is appealable and generally modifiable only as to certain terms.

A written contract in which spouses resolve property, support, and parenting issues themselves. Courts usually incorporate it into the judgment if it is fair and not contrary to law.

A property system in a minority of states under which most earnings and acquisitions during marriage belong equally to both spouses, regardless of whose name holds title.

The majority approach to dividing marital property at divorce, allocating it fairly rather than necessarily equally, based on statutory factors such as duration, contributions, and need.

Assets and income acquired by either spouse during the marriage, generally subject to division at divorce. Separate property brought into the marriage or received by gift or inheritance is usually excluded.

Assets owned before marriage or acquired during it by gift, inheritance, or personal injury award, which generally remain with the owning spouse at divorce absent commingling or statute to the contrary.

Mixing separate and marital funds or assets so they can no longer be traced, which can convert separate property into divisible marital property or create a reimbursement claim.

The evidentiary process of following the source and path of assets to prove that particular property remains separate despite passing through or being mixed with marital accounts.

Money one spouse pays the other after separation or divorce to help meet living expenses, awarded based on factors such as need, ability to pay, duration of marriage, and standard of living.

Time-limited support meant to help a spouse gain education, training, or work experience needed for self-sufficiency, usually ending on a set date or event.

A court's attribution of earnings to a party who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, used to set support based on earning capacity rather than actual reported income.

Statutorily prescribed formulas, usually based on income shares and parenting time, that produce a presumptive support amount, rebuttable only by showing factors that make the result unjust.

A child support method that estimates the total cost of raising a child and apportions that amount between parents in proportion to their respective incomes and time with the child.

The right and responsibility to make major decisions for a child, such as education, medical care, and religion. It may be joint or sole and is distinct from where the child lives.

The allocation of where a child resides and how overnights and daily care are shared between parents, which also drives many support and tax calculations.

The governing standard for custody and parenting decisions, weighing factors such as stability, each parent's caregiving capacity, the child's needs, and any history of violence.

A detailed order or agreement setting the schedule, decision-making rules, exchange logistics, and dispute-resolution steps for separated parents.

A move by the custodial parent that significantly affects the other parent's contact with the child, typically requiring notice and court approval under a specified legal standard.

The legal establishment of a child's father, created by marriage presumption, voluntary acknowledgment, or court adjudication, which triggers support and custody rights and duties.

A signed form, often completed at the hospital, by which unmarried parents declare the father, creating legal fatherhood unless later challenged within the statutory period.

A rule that a child born during a marriage is legally presumed the husband's child, rebuttable within limited time and by specified evidence such as genetic testing.

A contract signed before marriage that determines property and support rights if the marriage ends, enforceable if voluntarily executed with disclosure and not unconscionable at enforcement.

A contract defense allowing a court to refuse enforcement of terms so one-sided or oppressive, coupled with procedural unfairness, that enforcing them would be unjust.

A court order restraining an abuser from contact, proximity, or harm, often granting temporary custody, support, and exclusive residence, issued after a hearing or ex parte.

An emergency order granted on one party's request without the other side present, effective briefly until a full hearing where both parties can be heard.

The constitutional requirement that a person be given adequate notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard before the state deprives them of liberty or property interests.

The permanent judicial severing of the legal parent-child relationship, permitted only on statutory grounds proven by clear and convincing evidence and subject to appeal.

The legal process creating a permanent parent-child relationship between a child and an adoptive parent, usually requiring termination or consent of existing parental rights.

The voluntary, informed agreement of a parent or guardian to the adoption, which must meet statutory form, timing, and revocation rules to be valid.

A person, often an attorney or trained volunteer, appointed by the court to investigate and advocate for a child's best interests in custody or abuse proceedings.

The legal status in which a minor gains adult rights and independence, typically by marriage, military service, or court order, ending parental support and control obligations.

The statutory formalities for a valid marriage, generally a license plus a ceremony performed by an authorized officiant, with failure sometimes cured by common law marriage.

A valid marriage without ceremony recognized in a shrinking number of states when parties cohabit, hold themselves out as married, and intend to be married.

A person who participated in a marriage ceremony in good faith believing it valid, who may receive limited rights such as support or property even though the marriage is void.

A decree declaring that a marriage was never legally valid because of a defect such as bigamy, incapacity, fraud, or underage status existing at the time of the ceremony.