Child custody is the court-ordered arrangement that sets who makes major decisions for a child and where the child lives. In most cases, custody addresses...
Legal custody is the court-ordered right of 1 or both parents to make major decisions for a child. It covers choices like education, healthcare, religion,...
Physical custody is the court-ordered arrangement that decides where a child lives and who provides day-to-day care after parents separate or divorce. It covers the...
Joint custody is a custody arrangement in which both parents share legal responsibility for their child after separation or divorce. It often includes shared decision-making...
Sole custody is a custody arrangement where 1 parent has primary authority over a child’s care and major decisions. The other parent typically may receive...
An uncontested divorce is a divorce where both spouses agree on 100% of the key issues—property division, child custody, child support, and spousal support—so there’s...
Alimony is court-ordered spousal support where one spouse pays the other after divorce or legal separation to help maintain a reasonable standard of living. It’s...
Spousal support (alimony) is court-ordered financial support one spouse pays the other during separation or after divorce, and it can be temporary or long-term. Courts...
Child support is a court-ordered payment one parent makes to the other to help cover a child’s basic living expenses after separation or divorce. It...
Legal separation is a court-approved arrangement where spouses live apart while remaining legally married. It can set binding terms for child custody, property division, and...
An annulment is a court judgment that declares a marriage legally invalid from the beginning—treating it as though it never existed. It differs from divorce,...
A no-fault divorce lets spouses end a marriage without proving misconduct, typically by stating “irreconcilable differences” or an “irretrievable breakdown.” It generally reduces conflict and...
