Marriage & Divorce Terms
This type of marriage is legally invalid from the start.What is a void marriage?
What is a void marriage?
This is the financial support paid by a non-custodial parent for their child's living expenses.
What is child support?
A legally recognized relationship between two people, typically offering many of the same rights and benefits as marriage, but without all the obligations.
What is a civil union?
This is a common reason for divorce, where one spouse has been unfaithful.
What is adultery?
This term refers to the duties and responsibilities that spouses have toward each other in marriage.
What is marital consortium?
This legal process establishes a parent-child relationship.
What is adoption?
This refers to the responsibility for a child's physical and emotional care, usually determined by a court during a divorce.
What is child custody?
This term refers to a marriage that is considered illegal because one of the individuals is already married to someone else.
What is bigamy?
This legal ground for divorce involves a significant and prolonged lack of communication or willingness to reconcile between spouses.
What is irreconcilable differences?
This term refers to the legal process of ending a marriage, typically through the court system.
What is divorce?
This agreement is signed before marriage and determines property rights in the event of a divorce.
What is a prenuptial agreement?
A type of custody arrangement where the child spends equal time with both parents.
What is joint custody?
A marriage that ends because one of the parties was fraudulently induced to marry.
What is a voidable marriage?
This form of divorce occurs when neither spouse is blamed for the breakdown of the marriage.
What is a no-fault divorce?
This is the responsibility one spouse might have to support the other financially after a divorce.
What is alimony?
This term refers to a marriage that occurs when two people live together and act as a married couple for a long period, even without an official ceremony.
What is common law marriage?
This legal term refers to the care and guardianship of a child, typically granted after a divorce or separation.
What is legal custody?
This term describes a marriage that is legally recognized in some states but not in others, where the couple lives together as if married without a formal ceremony.
What is common law marriage?
In some cases, this term can be used as a reason for divorce when there is a lack of physical or emotional intimacy.
What is marital consortium?
In some marriages, this contract specifies what each spouse is entitled to financially if the marriage dissolves.
What is a prenuptial agreement?
This term refers to the payment made by one spouse to another for financial support after a divorce.
What is alimony?
This term refers to a situation where a court grants one parent exclusive physical custody of a child, usually due to a compelling reason.
What is sole custody?
This term refers to a marriage that is considered invalid due to one party being incapable of consent, such as if they are underage.
Answer: What is a void marriage?
A divorce may be granted on this ground if one party has been mentally or physically cruel to the other spouse.
What is cruelty?
This term refers to the process of formal separation without the legal dissolution of marriage, where couples live apart but remain legally married.
What is legal separation?