| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) | A way to resolve conflict outside of traditional adversarial court proceedings. An example is mediation or collaborative law |
| Affidavit | A sworn statement of a person; needs to be signed in front of a notary |
| Alimony | Old term used for spousal support (currently use the term "maintenance") |
| Annulment | The Court essentially says that the marriage never legally existed (note: to get an annulment through the Catholic church is different than a legal annulment) |
| Best interest | What the Judge uses to determine almost all things relating to the minor children |
| Business valuation | How the Court will value a business, or a business interest (if the spouse only owns a percentage) |
| Case management conference | Hearings the Court uses to move the case along and offer advice and guidance on settlement if necessary |
| Child Order of Protection (CPO) | A Protection Order (also referred to as a “Restraining Order”) for children; a Guardian Ad Litem is appointed, and custody and support can be Ordered |
| Child support | |
| Children's Division | Government Agency that investigates child abuse and neglect, and can take custody of children if abuse or neglect found |
| Cohabitation | Living with someone; legally, it usually means in a marriage-like relationship |
| College education expenses | Includes tuition, room, and board. Usually maxes out at the rates of the University of Missouri (Mizzou); these are separate from continuing child support |
| Contempt | The Court says that you are not following its Orders. Held in Contempt after a "Show Cause Hearing" |
| Continuance | When a hearing or trial has been moved to a later date |
| Debt | Monies owed; there are marital and non-marital debts |
| Default | The Court decided that the other person chose not to participate in the proceeding, and moves forward without them |
| Divorce | Legally it means that you are no longer married; sometimes referred to as "dissolution" |
| Domestic violence | Abuse or harassment of someone in the household |
| Domestic Relations Services (DRS) | St. Louis County Court’s go-to in high conflict cases. They provide a number of services, including supervised visits and supervised exchanges of the minor children, |
| Equitable distribution | Doesn't mean that it has to be equal, but a fair distribution of assets and debts |
| Ex Parte | Communication with the Court without the other side present and able to submit their own evidence/facts |
| Exhibit | What is used during evidentiary hearings that support your case or disproves the other side's case; must be offered and accepted by the Court to be considered |
| Family Support Payment Center | This is where you need to may your child support payments if not ordered to directly pay your ex: MO Family Support Payment Center (MO FSPC) P. O. Box 109006 Jefferson City, MO 65110-9006 https://mo.smartchildsupport.com/contact.aspx |
| Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) | An attorney (or other advocate) appointed by the Court to represent the best interest of the minor child(ren) |
| Harassment | Conduct that includes unwanted communication that may be threatening, intimidating, frightening, or causes emotional distress to another person |
| Irreconcilable differences | That the parties, through no fault of either party, have issues that cannot be worked out to save the marriage |
| Joint custody | Two types: Joint Legal custody is when the parents share rights to make major decisions, and requires an agreement; Joint Physical (or Residential) custody is when the parties each have significant, though not required to be equal, time with the minor child |
| Maintenance | Term used for spousal support; can be non-modifiable, and have set amount and term, or modifiable, which can be changed or terminated by the Court |
| Marital property | Property that is owned by the parties together, and will need to be divided in a divorce |
| Mediation | Often required, it means that the parties (and sometimes their attorneys) sit down with a mediator and attempt to work out their differences outside of Court |
| Non-marital property | Property that is not subject to division by the Court in a dissolution proceeding; usually items owned before the marriage or inherited before or during the marriage (and not co-mingled in joint accounts). |
| Paternity | When a person establishes rights and obligations for a child; must be done if child is born outside of marriage |
| Pendente Lite (PDL) | Temporary Orders that are in place during the litigation; replaced upon the final order being entered |
| Pension | A form of retirement that can be divided by the Court in most situations |
| Personal Injury | Personal injury attorneys help with injuries or deaths caused by accidents or negligence |
| Pre-trial conference | A hearing prior to the trial in an attempt to resolve issues and set future court dates and deadlines |
| Process Server | Someone who is authorized by the State to serve a party with legal documents |
| Protection Order (PO) | An Order that is put in place against a person prohibiting them from contacting or harassing a person |
| Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) | Order that divides retirement plans that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA); avoids taxes on division of retirement so long as the retirement money received is placed directly in a retirement account. |
| Quitclaim | Signing over rights to a property |
| Settlement Conference | Hearings the Court uses to move the case along and offer advice and guidance on settlement if necessary |
| Sole Custody | Two types: Sole legal custody is when a parent, after attempting to reach an agreement with the other parent, can make the major decision for themselves; sole residential/physical custody means that you have the child the vast majority of the time |
| Step Parent Adoption | When the spouse of a parent adopts their child; places the child in the step-parent’s bloodline |
| Trial | When the parties and attorneys go to Court, provide evidence, exhibits, witness testimony, etc. before the Judge, who then makes the decision on property, debts, and all issues involving the child(ren) |
| Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) | The UCCJEA is a federal law that determines what state has the "exclusive [and] continuing jurisdiction" for child custody litigation in the courts of the child's "home state," which is defined as the state where the child has lived with a parent for six consecutive months prior to the commencement of the proceeding (or since birth for children younger than six months). |
| Visitation | Sometimes referred to as "parenting time", it is the time that a person has with their minor child(ren) |
