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FAMILY LAW TERMS DEFINED
CHILD CUSTODY FACTORS
There are seven main factors that states can consider when determining child custody, and here they are defined.
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Statutory Factors: This takes into account things like the length of the marriage, the ages of the spouses, the health of the spouses, income, employability, contributions to the marriage, and more.
Joint Custody Allowed/Authorized: This determines which parent gains custody for the parent on a joint basis. They each have time with the child.
Favor Joint Custody: This means that any state that uses this as a factor favors giving parents joint custody.
Domestic Violence: Violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of the spousal partner.
Cooperative Parenting: This is when both parents allow each other to have good relationships with the child, regardless of custody.
Child Wishes: When a child is old enough in some states, that child is able to have a say in where they live/who they live with. This age varies between states.
Guardian Ad Litem: This is someone who will represent the interests of the child during the custody process. Some states will use this, some will not.
CHILD SUPPORT TERMS
Obligor: A person who is bound to another by contract or other legal procedures
Income Shares Model: This is based on the concept that the child should receive the same proportion of parental income that he or she would have received if the parents lived together. This is one of the more common child support plans.
Melson Formula: The court bases the child support payment on a defined set of factors, which include the needs of the child and standard of living adjustment for the child. This is a variation of the Income Shares Model.
Percentage of Income Model: This model sets support as a percentage of only the noncustodial parent's income; the custodial parent's income is not considered. This model has two variations: the Flat Percentage Model and the Varying Percentage Model.
DIVORCE TERMS
Equitable Distribution: This divides property in a way that the court finds fair, not necessarily equal.
Community Property: Property owned by the couple, not just one of the spouses. Usually property gained during the marriage.
No-Fault Divorce: The spouse asking for a divorce does not have to prove the other spouse did something wrong.
Fault Divorce: The spouse asking for a divorce does have to prove the other spouse did something wrong.
ADOPTION TERMS
Biological Parent: The parents who give birth to the child.
Adoptive Parent: Someone who provides a permanent home to a child or children through a legal process.
Parental Rights: The parent's ability to make decisions for the child. These decisions are supposed to be in the best interest of the child.
Petition for Adoption: Begins the process of adoption; the adoptive parents file this.