Divorce Definitions

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. Reasonable visitation A form of visitation in which the parents work out a schedule of visitation for the non-custodial parent. 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". Custodial parent The parent who has physical custody of the children. 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. Uncontested Divorce A divorce where both parties are able to make a mutually agreed-upon arrangement. Domestic Violence Petition This form serves as your application for a protective order; after obtaining one from the courthouse clerk, completing and returning it, it will be reviewed by a judge. 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. 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.