Types of Divorce 📜
The ending of a marriage by court order
Divorce
The case and keeping of something or someone, such as a child
Custody
Voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse
Adultery
A person who is trained to help couples settle their marital problems
Marriage Counselor
A court-ordered allowance a husband or wife (or an ex-husband/ex-wife) pays to his or her spouse after a legal separation, after a divorce, or while the case is being decided
Alimony
A form of divorce that involves informal discussions and conferences attended by both parties and their lawyers to settle all issues
Collaborative Divorce
A custody arrangement in which divorced or separated parents have equal rights in making important decisions concerning their children
Joint Custody
The act of abandoning one’s spouse with no intention of returning or of reassuming the duties of marriage. It is usually grounds for divorce.
Dessertion
A written document that lists the continuing legal rights and duties of each spouse when a couple separates, including alimony, child custody, support, and division of property
Separation Agreement
After a divorce, money is awarded to a spouse for the purpose of regaining or developing job skills
Rehabilitative Alimony
A divorce in which neither party is charged with any wrongdoing. The marriage is ended on the grounds that there are irreconcilable differences (basic disagreements that caused the marriage to break down)
No-fault Divorce
The presumption (now rejected by most states) that a young is always better off living with his or her mother
Tender Years Doctrine
Acts of emotional or psychological abuse against one’s spouse
Mental Cruelty
An official decision of a court, setting out the facts found in a case and the legal results. It orders that the court’s decision (for example, a divorce decree) be carried out
Decree
Property acquired during a marriage that is owned by both husband and wife, regardless of who earned it or paid for it
Community Property
Disagreement between a couple that is grounds for a no-fault divorce
Irreconcilable Differences
A doctrine used to determine custody by examining factors that will best benefit a child
Best Interest of the Child
Acts of violence or physical abuse against one’s spouse
Physical Cruelty
Latin term meaning “for oneself” or “on one’s own behalf” typically used to describe a person who represents himself or herself in court
Pro Se
A system for dividing property at the end of a marriage in which each spouse is entitled to his or her separate property brought into or acquired during the marriage. Marital property is divided according to factors such as need and length of the marriage
Equitable Distribution
A special type of marriage in which the couple surrenders, in advance, their right to a no-fault divorce
Covenant Marriage
A placement of a vulnerable youth in the continuous care and supervision of relatives who are not his or her parents, as directed by a social services or other child welfare agency. Such an arrangement also often occurs informally
Kinship Care
A defense used in criminal law cases. This defense varies from state to state and is based on the idea that the defendant could not tell right from wrong
Insanity
Latin for “in place of a parent”; person or body (such as a school) that is entrusted with a minor’s care and has intentionally assumed some or all of the rights of a parent over the minor
In Loco Parentis