Exhibit
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 supportedโone term at a time. An exhibit is a document or object shown in court to support your caseโlike emails, photos, or financial records.
Ex Parte
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 supportedโone term at a time. Ex parte means a legal action that happens without the other person present, usually because something urgent is happening. The court will review the case later with both sides.
Evidence
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 supportedโone term at a time. Evidence is anything used to prove a point in courtโlike texts, photos, bank records, or testimony.
Equitable Distribution
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 supportedโone term at a time. Equitable distribution means property is divided fairly, not always 50/50. The court looks at things like who earned what, who needs more support, and whatโs reasonable.
Enforcement
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 supportedโone term at a time. Enforcement means the court is making someone follow a court orderโlike paying child support or following the parenting plan.
Emergency Custody Order
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 supportedโone term at a time. An emergency custody order is a temporary order that gives one parent full custody right away, usually when thereโs a safety concern.
Domestic Relations 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 supportedโone term at a time. Domestic relations court is the part of the court system that handles family-related cases, like divorce, custody, child support, and sometimes domestic violence.
Docket
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 supportedโone term at a time. A docket is a list of all the events and filings in your case, including hearing dates and paperwork. Itโs like your caseโs timeline.
Dismissal
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 supportedโone 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 canโt move forward.
Discovery
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 supportedโone term at a time. Discovery is the part of divorce where both people share informationโlike income, bank records, or parenting infoโso that decisions can be made fairly.
Deposition
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 supportedโone term at a time. A deposition is a formal interview where someone answers questions under oath before trial. Itโs recorded and can be used as evidence in court.
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 supportedโone term at a time. If your ex doesnโt respond to the divorce papers by the deadline, the judge can move forward without them and make decisions based only on your side. Thatโs called a default judgment.
Decree (or Final Decree of Divorce)
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 supportedโone 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.
Consent Order
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 supportedโone 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.
Civil Contempt
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 supportedโone 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.
Child Custody Order
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 supportedโone 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.
Cause of Action
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 supportedโone term at a time. A cause of action is the legal reason youโre filing for divorce. It could be something like irreconcilable differences, adultery, or abandonment.
Case File
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 supportedโone term at a time. A case file is the folder or collection of documents about your divorceโeverything thatโs been filed, signed, or decided goes in there.
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 supportedโone term at a time. An attorney of record is the official lawyer listed in the courtโs records as representing you. Once your lawyer files a notice, they become your attorney of record.
Asset Disclosure
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 supportedโone term at a time. Asset disclosure means you list everything you own and how much itโs worth, including money, property, and investments. It helps the court fairly divide things.