Divorce Definitions

Child Support An amount of money under a court or administrative order that is due and owed by the non-custodial parent for the support of the parent's child(ren). Rehabilitative Alimony Rehabilitative alimony refers to alimony that is given to a spouse so that the spouse may “rehabilitate” herself or himself in the sense of acquiring greater earning power or training in order to become self-supporting. 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. 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. Reasonable visitation A form of visitation in which the parents work out a schedule of visitation for the non-custodial parent. 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. Supervised visitation A form of visitation in which an adult supervisor must be present when the child is visiting with the non-custodial parent. Temporary alimony A type of alimony payment that is made to one spouse pending separation or divorce proceedings.

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	Did You Know?
	In divorce actions, mediators often are involved in custody and visitation disputes. In some jurisdictions (particularly large urban areas), courts require mediation of custody and visitation disputes. The mother and father must talk with a court-appointed mediator to try to resolve the problem before putting their case before a judge. The mediator cannot force a resolution, but the parties can be told to try mediation before coming to court to ask a judge to decide the issue.