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Age of Majority
Attained upon one's eighteenth birthday. However, a child support order will remain in effect beyond attainment of eighteen as long as the child continuously attends an accredited high school on a full time basis, the child is determined to be mentally or physically disabled by the court, or both parents have agreed to continue support after the age of 18 and it is incorporated in a divorce decree.
Contested Divorce
A divorce where the parties are unable or unwilling to come to a mutual agreement.
Alimony
A payment made by one spouse to another pending divorce or separation.
Uncontested Divorce
A divorce where both parties are able to make a mutually agreed-upon arrangement.
No-Fault Divorce
Many states now permit "no-fault" divorces. No fault" divorce describes any divorce where the spouse suing for divorce does not have to prove that the other spouse did something wrong. All states allow divorces regardless of who is at "fault."
Abandonment
When a parent leaves a child without enough care, supervision, support, or parental contact for an excessive period of time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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