The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. A docket is a list of all the events and filings in your case, including hearing dates and paperwork. It’s like your case’s timeline.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. A dismissal means the divorce case is closed without a final decision. This can happen if both people change their minds or the court decides it can’t move forward.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. Discovery is the part of divorce where both people share information—like income, bank records, or parenting info—so that decisions can be made fairly.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. A deposition is a formal interview where someone answers questions under oath before trial. It’s recorded and can be used as evidence in court.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time.  If your ex doesn’t respond to the divorce papers by the deadline, the judge can move forward without them and make decisions based only on your side. That’s called a default judgment.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time.  The decree is the official document from the court that says your divorce is final. It includes the final decisions on custody, support, and property division.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. Consent order is a court-approved agreement between both parties, written down and signed by the judge. It becomes a legal order you both must follow.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. Civil contempt means that if someone ignores a court order (like not paying support or not following the custody plan), they can be held in civil contempt. That means they may face fines or other penalties.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. A child custody order is a legal document that says where the child will live and who makes decisions. It can be temporary or final, and both parents must follow it.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. A cause of action is the legal reason you’re filing for divorce. It could be something like irreconcilable differences, adultery, or abandonment.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. A case file is the folder or collection of documents about your divorce—everything that’s been filed, signed, or decided goes in there.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. An attorney of record is the official lawyer listed in the court’s records as representing you. Once your lawyer files a notice, they become your attorney of record.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. Asset disclosure means you list everything you own and how much it’s worth, including money, property, and investments. It helps the court fairly divide things.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. Arbitration is a private way to settle a dispute outside of court, where a neutral person (called an arbitrator) makes a final decision after hearing both sides.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. In legal terms, an appearance is when you show up in court or officially take part in the case, either in person or by filing paperwork.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. An appeal is when you ask a higher court to review a decision made by the judge in your case. You’re saying, “I think something went wrong and want it looked at again.”

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. An answer is your official reply to the divorce papers you were served. It's your chance to agree, disagree, or explain your side.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. An amicus attorney is a lawyer appointed by the court to help the judge decide what is in the best interest of the child. They do not represent the parents or the child. Instead, they investigate the family situation and make a neutral recommendation to the court.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. An allegation is a claim or accusation that someone says is true but hasn't been proven yet.

The Divorce Dictionary is your plain-language guide to 400+ legal, financial, and emotional terms. Whether you're considering divorce or deep in the process, this compassionate glossary helps you feel informed, empowered, and supported—one term at a time. An affidavit is a written statement that you sign under oath, swearing that the information is true.