Advisement of rights – A form advising obligor’s of their rights concerning wage-withholdings. (See “obligor" and “ wage-withholding".)
Alimony – Periodic payments from one spouse to the other. This may be before the divorce is final and/or for a set period of time after the divorce. (See “pendent lite orders.") In many cases, the remarriage or cohabitation (living with a girlfriend or boyfriend) of the spouse receiving the alimony will be cause to modify or terminate the alimony.
Appearance – A simple form filed with the Court advising of your name, address, telephone number, etc. If not filed by a defendant, he or she will not receive notices from the Court and court orders, including a judgment, could be entered in his or her absence. (See “default divorce".) An appearance form is should be filed before the return date in order to avoid a default, however it may be filed at any point during the pendency of an action. (See “return date".)
Arrearage – A sum of money, past due, owed by one party to the other party. Usually, an arrearage refers to past due child support, but may also be used to refer to past due alimony. (See “child support" and “alimony".)
Automatic orders – Orders of the Court that are automatically in effect once an action is filed. Violation of these orders can result in a finding of contempt, monetary sanctions or even, in rare cases, incarceration.
Case management agreement- A form required by the court to be signed by both parties and submitted prior to the case management date. (See “case management date".) This form informs the court of the general outstanding disputes and the manner in which the parties will proceed.
Case management date – In general, the earliest possible date by which the parties can be divorced – usually about 90 days from the return date. (See “return date".) The case management agreement must be filed by this date. (See “case management agreement")
Child support – Periodic payments, usually from the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent for the purposes of supporting a minor child or children. (See “non-custodial parent" and “custodial parent".) Child support payments often ordered ordered before final judgment or before a divorce is final. (See “pendent lite orders.")
Child support guidelines – A form used to calculate the amount of weekly child support a person is obligated to pay. The amount of child support owed is based on numerous factors including the number of children and the parties’ income. - Is usually synonymous with primary residence. (See “primary residence".)
Custodial Parent – Generally, the parent with whom the child primarily resides. (See “primary residence" and “physical custody".)
Custody– Contrary to popular belief, custody, technically, has nothing to do with where the child lives. Custody refers to decision making regarding the welfare of the child, i.e. – what school the child attends, what religion the child will be brought up in, whether or not the child requires surgery or braces. (See “primary residence" and “physical custody.")
Default divorce – A divorce granted by the court by default. This usually occurs when one party chooses not to participate in the divorce process by failing to file an appearance or failing to appear for court hearings.
Dissolution (Dissolution of Marriage)– The legal word for divorce.
Exclusive use – Usually used to describe the right of one party, through a court order, to exclusively use and live in the marital home. Exclusive use may also refer to a vehicle or other personal property.
Family Relations Officers – State of Connecticut employees who usually have education, training and experience in family relations. In most cases when you go to court, you will not be heard by a judge until you have met with family relations. Family relations officers will attempt to help you and the opposing party reach an agreement on the issues.
Financial affidavit – A form filed with the court showing a party’s income, assets and expenditures. This form, together with the child support guidelines will be used to calculate child support. (See “child support guidelines".) It may also be examined by the court to determine alimony and distribution of the parties’ property. (See “alimony".)
Guardian ad litem – A person, usually an attorney, appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a minor child or children.
Joint Custody – When both parents have the right to make decisions regarding the welfare of the child. Sometimes, the court will order the parties to come to consult each other when making such decisions, but will leave final say with one party.
Juris number – A number assigned by the state to attorneys and firms. Individuals who are not attorneys do not need to fill out this portion of the appearance form. (See “appearance form.")
Motion for contempt – A motion filed with court when one party believes the other party is in violation of a court order.
Motion to modify – A motion filed with the court when one party wishes to have a court order changed.
Non-custodial Parent – Generally, the parent with whom the child does not primarily reside.
Obligor – The person who owes money to the other party. Usually used in the context of child support.
Obligee– The person who is owed money from the other party. Usually used in the context of child support.
Parenting Education Program – A 6 hour course that the court requires all parties with minor children to attend. The class is intended to educate parents about the issues concerning the children involved in a divorce or custody dispute.
Pendente lite motion– A motion filed with the court during the pendency of the action, prior to final judgment.
Pendente lite order – Orders of the court during the pendency of the action, prior to final judgment. These may be orders for just about anything, but usually pertain to use of the home, custody of the children, child support and alimony.
Physical custody – Usually synonymous with primary residence. (See “primary residence".) The parent with whom the child primarily resides is generally said to have physical custody.
Primary residence – The home of the parent with whom child primarily resides. This is usually the home located in the child’s school district. (See “physical custody".)
Pro se- A self-represented party. A party without an attorney.
Return date – The date by which a summons, complaint and return of service is to be returned to the court. Also, the date by which a defendant is supposed to file an appearance.
Sole custody – When one parent is solely responsible for decision making concerning the welfare of the child. Sole custody does not mean that the other parent does not have visitation.
Supervised visitation– When the court orders that the non-custodial parent’s time with the minor child be supervised by a third party. Sometimes the supervisor may be a professional, other times it may be a family member or even the other parent. (See “non-custodial".)
Uncontested dissolution/divorce - When the parties are divorced pursuant to an agreement, as opposed to having a trial.
Visitation – Time the non-custodial parent spends with the minor child. (See “non-custodial".)
Wage-withholding – An order of the court requiring that child support or other sorts of periodic payments be paid to the obligee directly from the obligor’s employer.
Non-disclosure
Hi - I just closed on a piece of foreclosed property in Windham NH yesterday. Part of the P&S was an agreement that the bank that owned the property would credit me $4677 for carpeting and $323 for missing smoke detectors and a repair to a railing. The total credit was supposed to be $5000. At the very last minute - about 90 minutes before closing, I was told by the closing company that the bank I was borrowing money from would not allow the selling bank to give back more than 2% to closing costs. I had to leave about $1600 on the table because 2% of the selling price was only about $3400. The problem is that they never disclosed to me that this limitation existed either verbally or written. Otherwise I could have made other concessions such as an adjustment on the price. Do I have any recourse as far as non-disclosure? They literally made me NOT accept $1600 from the seller and the seller got to pocket that money. There's absolutely nothing I could do so close to closing. Thanks, Joe
Getting rid of my daughter's boyfriend
How do I get rid of my daugther's boyfriend? He lives with me
Invalid wedding
I heard there is a Federal law that states if a couple got married in good faith by an officiant who later turned out to not be licensed to perform weddings, that the marriage is still valid.
Is this true?
If so, where can I see the law?
quit claim deed/life estate
A grandmother and grandfather quit claim deed their land to their living daughter. The daughter then signs a quit claim deed as tenants in common with her brother. The brother dies within a few months, and so does the grandmother. The grandfather reserves a life interest in the property and is currently living at the property. The grandfather then decides to update his will so that his estate might not transfer to parties or heirs not intented to recieve his estate. Does the quit claim deed trump his will? Will all of the land be divided between the tenants in common or to thier heirs if they shall pass? On the origional Quit claim deed given solely to one child, the grantors reserves a testimentary power of appointment of the property. What does this mean and is it still vaild if a new quit claim deed was done among the siblings? What rights does the grandfather have with his estate? Also, what happens if the grandfather dies and one of the tenants wants to keep the estate. Can the other tenant sell their share?