Divorce and family law proceedings in Texas necessitate that both parties adhere to certain procedures and orders. If you haven't done any research prior to the start of the proceedings, you will come across various legal terms that sound like Greek during court hearings or when reading legal documents. Even if you have a divorce or family lawyer to guide you through the process and documentation, there are a few terms you should be familiar with in order to follow the proceedings and understand any communication from your lawyer or the courts. In this blog post, we will look at a few divorce and family law terms that are important to understand before going through a divorce, whether in Texas or elsewhere.
1. Absolute Divorce
An absolute divorce is when a marriage legally ends, thus, legally freeing both the parties to remarry.
2. Alimony
The legal duty on one spouse to provide financial support to their spouse before or after divorce, is referred to as alimony.
3. Alias Summons
It is a second summon served when the first summon is unsuccessful.
4. Annulment
Annulment is when a marriage is declared null and void. In the eyes of the law, the couple was never married.
5. Custodial & Non-Custodial Parent
The custodial parent is the one that has physical custody of the child, whereas the non-custodial parent does not have such custody.
6. Condonation
Condonation is the act of voluntary forgiveness by an innocent spouse of an offense committed by their guilty spouse, with an implied condition that the act shall not be repeated.
7. Discovery
Discovery is a way of obtaining valuable information that is pertinent to a divorce case, such as on the children, assets, and debts, through depositions, written discovery, Subpoenas, and Inventory and Appraisements.
8. Equitable Distribution
In divorce law, equitable distribution is the “fair” division of the property and debts acquired by the couple during their marriage. The assets that are categorized as separate property are not included for distribution.
9. Fault Divorce
Fault divorce is when the court grants divorce to a couple on the grounds of substantial proofs that justify the fault of the guilty spouse. Fault-divorce can be on various grounds, such as adultery and inability to have sexual intercourse.
10. Home State
Home State is the state where the child/children from the marriage stayed with a parent, guardian, or person acting as a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before filing for child support, custody, or any such comparable pleading for support in the court. If a child is less than six months old, their place of birth is considered to be the home state.
11. Legal Separation
Legal separation is an alternative to divorce, wherein the court allows the spouses to live separately while remaining legally married. Like divorce, however, the parties can file petitions for alimony, child custody, and other comparable support.
12. Marital Property
The property acquired by a couple during the subsistence of their marriage.
13. Pendente Lite
It is a Latin term, which means ‘awaiting litigation’. This term refers to the temporary relief the court awards to either or both the parties while their case is pending for hearing. In a divorce case, a pendente lite order mostly is to provide financial support to the low-income or no-income earning spouse.
14. Prenuptial Agreement
A prenuptial agreement is a ‘before-marriage contract or agreement’ that is signed by both partners concerning the ownership of their assets and financial rights in the event their marriage fails.
15. Residency Requirement
To use a specific state’s court system, you need to fulfill the residency requirements to prove that you fall under that state law’s jurisdiction. Residency requirements may slightly vary from state to state. Residency requirements in divorce are often that either of the spouses must be a resident of the county in which the suit is filed or domiciliary of that particular state before the petition is filed in the court.
16. Spousal Maintenance
A court’s order for alimony is known as spousal maintenance.