Divorce Definitions

Custodial parent The parent who has physical custody of the children. Orders of Notice Notice ordered by the court requiring the party who filed for divorce to ensure that the other party is served by a sheriff with copies of the "Petition for Divorce". Temporary alimony A type of alimony payment that is made to one spouse pending separation or divorce proceedings. Mediation A non-adversarial process in which a neutral third party acts to encourage and help disputing parties reach a mutually acceptable agreement. May not be a good option when domestic violence is present. Supervised visitation A form of visitation in which an adult supervisor must be present when the child is visiting with the non-custodial parent. Buccal Swab A recognized form of genetic testing used to determine paternity, which involves a q-tip type instrument for collecting saliva from individuals submitting to testing. Annulment The legal dissolution of a marriage. In an annulment, the marriage is treated as though it never existed. Abandonment When a parent leaves a child without enough care, supervision, support, or parental contact for an excessive period of time. Joint custody A form of child custody that grants both parents joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both joint legal custody and joint physical custody. Legal Separation A court order arranging the terms (custody, support, etc.) under which a married couple will live separately. This addresses the same issues as divorce, but does not completely dissolve the marriage.

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	Did You Know?
	An annulment is a court ruling that a supposed marriage was never valid. One of the most common grounds for annulment is fraud. For example, one person may have not disclosed to the other a prior divorce, a criminal record, or an unwillingness to have sexual intercourse. An annulment also may be granted may if one of the parties to the "marriage” was still married to someone else at the time of the marriage that is at issue. Other bases for annulments include marriage of an underage person, marriage to too close a blood relative, and marriage by a person under duress as the time of marriage.