Divorce Definitions

Alimony A payment made by one spouse to another pending divorce or separation. 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. Reasonable visitation A form of visitation in which the parents work out a schedule of visitation for the non-custodial parent. Annulment The legal dissolution of a marriage. In an annulment, the marriage is treated as though it never existed. 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. 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. Supervised visitation A form of visitation in which an adult supervisor must be present when the child is visiting with the non-custodial parent. 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. 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.

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	Did You Know?
	About my ex-spouse visitation rights Unless the court has granted a modification of the visitation arrangement, then you can not and should not deny visitation! Denying visitation is one of the biggest mistakes made by most custodial parents. You may believe you have a justifiable reason for denying the visitation rights, but by law your are not permitted to do so.