Divorce Definitions

Reasonable visitation A form of visitation in which the parents work out a schedule of visitation for the non-custodial parent. 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. Absolute divorce A divorce in which the marriage is completely dissolved and both parties become single. Orders of Notice Notice ordered by the court requiring the party who filed for divorce to ensure that the other party is served by a sheriff with copies of the "Petition for Divorce". Annulment The legal dissolution of a marriage. In an annulment, the marriage is treated as though it never existed. 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." Supervised visitation A form of visitation in which an adult supervisor must be present when the child is visiting with the non-custodial parent. Legal Separation A court order arranging the terms (custody, support, etc.) under which a married couple will live separately. This addresses the same issues as divorce, but does not completely dissolve the marriage. Uncontested Divorce A divorce where both parties are able to make a mutually agreed-upon arrangement. 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.

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	Did You Know?
	An annulment is a court ruling that a supposed marriage was never valid. One of the most common grounds for annulment is fraud. For example, one person may have not disclosed to the other a prior divorce, a criminal record, or an unwillingness to have sexual intercourse. An annulment also may be granted may if one of the parties to the "marriage” was still married to someone else at the time of the marriage that is at issue. Other bases for annulments include marriage of an underage person, marriage to too close a blood relative, and marriage by a person under duress as the time of marriage.