Family Law

Child support arrears are past-due child support amounts that were owed under a support order but not paid when due.

Understand child support guidelines as formulas or rules used to calculate support obligations.

A child support modification is a court-approved change to an existing child support order after relevant circumstances change.

A custody evaluation is an assessment used in some family-law cases to help the court evaluate child custody or parenting-time issues.

Custody modification is a request to change an existing custody order because circumstances have changed or the child's best interests require a new arrangement.

Understand custody orders as court orders that set parenting time and decision-making rules.

A domestic partnership is a recognized relationship status that may provide certain rights or responsibilities depending on state, local, employer, or plan rules.

Domestic violence is abuse or threatened abuse within a family, household, intimate, or similar relationship that can affect protective orders, custody, and criminal proceedings.

Family court is a court or court division that handles domestic relations, child custody, support, guardianship, and related family-law matters.

An income withholding order directs an employer or other payor to withhold income and send it toward child support or related obligations.

Learn how joint custody can involve shared decision-making, shared parenting time, or both.

Learn how legal custody concerns major decisions about a child's health, education, and welfare.

Understand marital property as property treated as part of the marital estate for division.

A marital settlement agreement is a written divorce agreement resolving issues such as property, support, custody, and other marital obligations.

No-fault divorce allows a marriage to end without requiring one spouse to prove legally recognized marital misconduct by the other.

Parental rights are legal rights and responsibilities connected to a parent's relationship with a child.

Understand parenting plans as documents that organize custody, parenting time, and child-related decisions.

Parenting time is the time a parent spends with a child under a custody arrangement, parenting plan, or court order.

Learn how paternity identifies legal fatherhood and affects custody, support, and parentage rights.

Understand physical custody as the part of custody focused on where a child lives and spends time.

A putative father is a person alleged or claimed to be a child's father before legal parentage has been established.

Relocation is a custody issue involving a parent's proposed move that may affect parenting time, school, travel, or the child's relationship with the other parent.

A relocation request asks to move a child's residence in a way that may affect custody, parenting time, or access.

Learn how separate property may be treated differently from marital property in divorce.

A separation agreement is a written agreement that addresses rights and duties while spouses live apart or prepare for divorce.

Understand sole custody as an arrangement where one parent has primary custody authority.

Supervised visitation is parenting time that takes place with another person or agency present for safety, transition, or court-ordered monitoring.

A temporary custody order sets custody, parenting time, or related arrangements while a family-law case is still pending.

A temporary order is a short-term family-court order that governs issues such as custody, support, housing, or protection while a case is pending.

A visitation schedule sets when a child spends time with each parent or another approved person under a family-law arrangement.

Learn what annulment means in family law and how it differs from divorce as a way of ending a marital relationship.

Understand the best-interests-of-the-child standard and why it shapes custody and parenting decisions.

Learn what community property means and why marital-property rules matter in divorce and asset disputes.

Understand equitable distribution and how courts divide marital property in many divorce cases.

Understand legal separation and how it differs from divorce in family-law disputes about spouses living apart.

Learn what visitation means in family law and how it relates to custody and parenting-time arrangements.

Adoption is the legal process that creates a recognized parent-child relationship between the adopting adult and the child.

Child custody refers to legal authority and practical arrangements for a child's care, residence, and major decisions after separation or in other family disputes.

Child support is the legal obligation to contribute financially to a child's care, usually under a statute, guideline formula, or court order.

Divorce is the legal process that ends a marriage and addresses related issues such as property, support, and parenting responsibilities.

This section explains marriage, separation, parenting, and household-protection terms that commonly appear in U.S. family-law matters.

Guardianship is a court-recognized legal relationship that gives one person authority to care for another person or that person's affairs.

A prenuptial agreement is a contract made before marriage that sets rules for property, debts, and sometimes support if the marriage later ends.

A protective order is a court order that restricts contact, conduct, or proximity to help protect a person from threats, abuse, or harassment.

Spousal support is money one spouse may be required to pay the other during or after separation based on the governing legal standard.