Custody & Family Law Glossary

Key takeaways

• Alphabetical, neutral, and educational.
• Terms link to deeper guides where available.

Best interests of the child

The legal standard courts use to decide custody, weighing factors such as stability, caregiving history, and each parent's fitness.

Contempt

A finding that a party willfully violated a court order; remedies include make-up time, fines, fees, and rarely jail.

Custody evaluator

A mental-health professional appointed to assess both homes and recommend a custody arrangement.

Custody modification

A court process to change an existing custody or parenting-time order after a substantial change in circumstances.

Ex parte

A request decided without the other party present, used for emergencies; usually followed by a prompt hearing.

Guardian ad litem (GAL)

An attorney or trained representative appointed to represent the child's interests and report to the court.

Imputed income

Income a court assigns to a parent it finds voluntarily unemployed or underemployed for child-support purposes.

Joint custody

Both parents share custody. May refer to joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both; definitions vary by state.

Legal custody

The authority to make major decisions for a child—education, non-emergency medical care, religion. Can be joint or sole.

Legitimation

In Georgia, the separate court step an unmarried father must take to gain custody and visitation rights after paternity.

Mediation

A required or voluntary process in which a neutral mediator helps parents reach agreement before trial.

Parent-time

Utah's term for a parent's court-ordered time with the child; other states say parenting time or visitation.

Parenting plan

A written schedule and set of rules for custody, parenting time, holidays, decision-making, and communication.

Paternity

The legal determination that a man is a child's father, established by presumption, acknowledgment, or court order.

Physical custody

Where the child lives day to day. Often described by a residential schedule and number of overnights with each parent.

Protective order

A court order restricting contact between parties; may include temporary custody and parenting-time provisions.

Relocation / move-away

A parent's proposed move that would significantly affect the parenting schedule, usually requiring notice or court approval.

Right of first refusal

A clause requiring a parent who needs childcare for a set period to offer the time to the other parent first.

Sole custody

One parent holds legal custody, physical custody, or both. The other parent typically retains parenting time.

Status quo

The living arrangement in place when the court decides; judges are reluctant to disrupt a working arrangement.

Temporary order

An order in effect while a case is pending; often sets the custody 'status quo' the final order builds on.

Visitation

Court-ordered time with a child for the parent the child does not primarily live with.