FAMILY LAW
- Adoption: The act of one who takes another's child into his own family, treating him as his own, and giving him all the rights and duties of his own child.
- Adultery: Adultery is the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with a person other than the offender's husband or wife.
- Alimony: Money one spouse pays to another spouse for support during or following a dissolution of marriage (divorce), when the receiving spouse proves they are entitled to support. Alimony is either temporary or permanent.
- Annulment: A judgment by a court that invalidates a marriage from the date of its formation.
- Asset: a useful or valuable thing.
- Best Interests of the Child: all custody and visitation discussions and decisions are made with the ultimate goal of encouraging the child's happiness, security, mental health, and emotional development into young adulthood.
- Codicil: An amendment to a will. Wills are handled by the circuit courts.
- Common Law Marriage: informal marriage, or marriage by habit, where a couple is legally considered married, without that couple having a ceremony.
- Custody: the protective care or guardianship of someone.
- Dissolution: the closing down or ending of a partnership or relationship.
- Divorce: Legal dissolution of a marriage by the court. Divorce cases are handled by circuit courts.
- Estate: The property owned by a person, in his or her name, at the time of the person's death. Estates and wills are handled by circuit courts.
- Foster Care: a situation in which for a period of time a child lives with and is cared for by people who are not the child's parents.
- Guardian ad litem: A lawyer appointed to defend or prosecute a case on behalf of a party who is incapacitated by a young age or other condition.
- Guardian: one who has the care of the person or property of another.
- Incest: sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry.
- Irretrievably Broken: when a married couple agrees that the marriage is broken and there's no chance of fixing it.
- Liability: something for which one is liable; a debt or obligation.
- Mental Incapacity: an inability through mental illness to carry on the everyday affairs of life or to care for one's person or property with reasonable discretion.
- Neglect: fail to care for properly.
- Prenuptial Agreement: an agreement made between a couple before marrying in which they give up future rights to each other's property in the event of divorce or death.
- Will: A written document in which a person declares how his or her property should be distributed upon death.
