Divorce Definitions

Alimony A payment made by one spouse to another pending divorce or separation. Residual Physical Custodial Rights A custody agreement when one parent is awarded visitation by a pre-arranged schedule worked out between the parents or the courts. Paternity The determination of who the father of a child is in order to arrange child custody and child support in the event of a divorce. Absolute divorce A divorce in which the marriage is completely dissolved and both parties become single. Supervised visitation A form of visitation in which an adult supervisor must be present when the child is visiting with the non-custodial parent. Uncontested Divorce A divorce where both parties are able to make a mutually agreed-upon arrangement. Annulment The legal dissolution of a marriage. In an annulment, the marriage is treated as though it never existed. Child Support An amount of money under a court or administrative order that is due and owed by the non-custodial parent for the support of the parent's child(ren). 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. No-Fault Divorce Many states now permit "no-fault" divorces. No fault" divorce describes any divorce where the spouse suing for divorce does not have to prove that the other spouse did something wrong. All states allow divorces regardless of who is at "fault."

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	Did You Know?
	In divorce actions, mediators often are involved in custody and visitation disputes. In some jurisdictions (particularly large urban areas), courts require mediation of custody and visitation disputes. The mother and father must talk with a court-appointed mediator to try to resolve the problem before putting their case before a judge. The mediator cannot force a resolution, but the parties can be told to try mediation before coming to court to ask a judge to decide the issue.