Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 61 - Dissolution of Marriage; Support; Time-Sharing

• Abandoned: means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Adult: means an individual who has attained 18 years of age or who has had the disability of nonage removed under chapter 743. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Budget authority: Authority provided by law to enter into obligations that will result in outlays of Federal funds. Budget authority may be classified by the period of availability (one-year, multiyear, no-year), by the timing of congressional action (current or permanent), or by the manner of determining the amount available (definite or indefinite).
• Business day: means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Caretaking authority: means the right to live with and care for a child on a day-to-day basis. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Child: means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Child: means :
  (a) An individual who has not attained 18 years of age and who has not had the disability of nonage removed under chapter 743; or
  (b) An adult son or daughter by birth or adoption, or designated by general law, who is the subject of a court order concerning custodial responsibility. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Child custody determination: means a judgment, decree, or other order of a court providing for the legal custody, physical custody, residential care, or visitation with respect to a child. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Child custody proceeding: means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody, residential care, or visitation with respect to a child is an issue. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
• CLERC System: means the automated system established pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Close and substantial relationship: means a positive relationship of substantial duration and depth in which a significant emotional bond exists between a child and a nonparent. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Collaborative attorney: means an attorney who represents a party in a collaborative law process. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Collaborative law communication: means an oral or written statement, including a statement made in a record, or nonverbal conduct that:
  (a) Is made in the conduct of or in the course of participating in, continuing, or reconvening for a collaborative law process; and
  (b) Occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement and before the collaborative law process is concluded or terminated. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Collaborative law participation agreement: means an agreement between persons to participate in a collaborative law process. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Collaborative law process: means a process intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal and in which persons sign a collaborative law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative attorneys. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Collaborative matter: means a dispute, a transaction, a claim, a problem, or an issue for resolution, including a dispute, a claim, or an issue in a proceeding which is described in a collaborative law participation agreement and arises under chapter 61 or chapter 742, including, but not limited to:
  (a) Marriage, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and marital property distribution. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Commencement: means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means an entity authorized under the laws of a state to establish, enforce, or modify a child custody determination. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Court: means the court of legal jurisdiction. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Custodial responsibility: includes all powers and duties relating to caretaking authority and decisionmaking authority for a child. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Decisionmaking authority: means the power to make important decisions regarding a child, including decisions regarding the child's education, religious training, health care, extracurricular activities, and travel. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Revenue. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deploying parent: means a servicemember who is deployed or has been notified of impending deployment and is:
  (a) A parent of a child; or
  (b) An individual who has custodial responsibility for a child. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Deployment: means the movement or mobilization of a servicemember for less than 18 months pursuant to uniformed service orders that:
  (a) Are designated as unaccompanied;
  (b) Do not authorize dependent travel; or
  (c) Otherwise do not permit the movement of family members to the location to which the servicemember is deployed. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Depository: means a depository established by the clerk of the circuit court in each county pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Electronic communication: means contact, other than face-to-face contact, facilitated by tools such as telephones, electronic mail or e-mail, webcams, videoconferencing equipment and software or other wired or wireless technologies, or other means of communication to supplement face-to-face contact between a parent and that parent's minor child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Extradition: The formal process of delivering an accused or convicted person from authorities in one state to authorities in another state.
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Family member: means a sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, stepparent, or grandparent of a child or an individual recognized by the deploying parent and the other parent to be in a familial relationship with a child. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders: means the automated registry of support order abstracts and other information established and maintained by the United States Department of Health and Human Services as provided by Florida Statutes 61.046
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Health insurance: means coverage under a fee-for-service arrangement, health maintenance organization, or preferred provider organization, and other types of coverage available to either parent, under which medical services could be provided to a dependent child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Home state: means the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least 6 consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Income: means any form of payment to an individual, regardless of source, including, but not limited to: wages, salary, commissions and bonuses, compensation as an independent contractor, worker's compensation, disability benefits, annuity and retirement benefits, pensions, dividends, interest, royalties, trusts, and any other payments, made by any person, private entity, federal or state government, or any unit of local government. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Initial determination: means the first child custody determination concerning a particular child. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Issuing court: means the court that makes a child custody determination for which enforcement is sought under this part. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legislative Auditing Committee: means a committee or committees designated by joint rule of the Legislature, by the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Limited contact: means the authority of a nonparent to visit a child for a limited time. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Modification: means a child custody determination that changes, replaces, supersedes, or is otherwise made after a previous determination concerning the same child, regardless of whether it is made by the court that made the previous determination. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• National medical support notice: means the notice required under Florida Statutes 61.046
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Nonparent: means an individual other than a deploying parent or other parent. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Nonparty participant: means a person, other than a party and the party's collaborative attorney, who participates in a collaborative law process. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Notice of deployment: means official notification to a servicemember, through orders or other written or electronic communication, that the servicemember is subject to deployment on or about a specified date. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: includes affirmations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Obligee: means the person to whom payments are made pursuant to an order establishing, enforcing, or modifying an obligation for alimony, for child support, or for alimony and child support. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Obligor: means a person responsible for making payments pursuant to an order establishing, enforcing, or modifying an obligation for alimony, for child support, or for alimony and child support. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Office of Economic and Demographic Research: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability: means an entity designated by joint rule of the Legislature or by agreement between the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Other parent: means an individual who, in addition to a deploying parent, is:
  (a) A parent of a child; or
  (b) An individual who has custodial responsibility for a child. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parenting plan: means a document created to govern the relationship between the parents relating to decisions that must be made regarding the minor child and must contain a time-sharing schedule for the parents and child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Parenting plan recommendation: means a nonbinding recommendation concerning one or more elements of a parenting plan made by a court-appointed mental health practitioner or other professional designated pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Party: means a person who signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Payor: means an employer or former employer or any other person or agency providing or administering income to the obligor. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, or government; governmental subdivision, agency, instrumentality, or public corporation; or any other legal or commercial entity. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Person: means an individual; a corporation; a business trust; an estate; a trust; a partnership; a limited liability company; an association; a joint venture; a public corporation; a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or any other legal or commercial entity. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Person acting as a parent: means a person, other than a parent, who:
  (a) Has physical custody of the child or has had physical custody for a period of 6 consecutive months, including any temporary absence, within 1 year immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding; and
  (b) Has been awarded a child-custody determination by a court or claims a right to a child-custody determination under the laws of this state. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Physical custody: means the physical care and supervision of a child. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• political subdivision: include counties, cities, towns, villages, special tax school districts, special road and bridge districts, bridge districts, and all other districts in this state. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Proceeding: means a judicial, an administrative, an arbitral, or any other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and posthearing motions, conferences, and discovery. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Record: means information that is created in a tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• registered mail: includes certified mail with return receipt requested. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Related to a collaborative matter: means involving the same parties, transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact, dispute, claim, or issue as the collaborative matter. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Return from deployment: means the conclusion of a servicemember's deployment as specified in uniformed service orders. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Servicemember: means a member of a uniformed service. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Shared parental responsibility: means a court-ordered relationship in which both parents retain full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to their child and in which both parents confer with each other so that major decisions affecting the welfare of the child will be determined jointly. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Sign: means , with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:
  (a) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
  (b) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Sign: means , with the intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:
  (a) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
  (b) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Sole parental responsibility: means a court-ordered relationship in which one parent makes decisions regarding the minor child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• State Case Registry: means the automated registry maintained by the Title IV-D agency, containing records of each Title IV-D case and of each support order established or modified in the state on or after October 1, 1998. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• State Disbursement Unit: means the unit established and operated by the Title IV-D agency to provide one central address for collection and disbursement of child support payments made in cases enforced by the department pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act and in cases not being enforced by the department in which the support order was initially issued in this state on or after January 1, 1994, and in which the obligor's child support obligation is being paid through income deduction order. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Support order: means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary or final, issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or administrative agency for the support and maintenance of a child which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, or past support. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Time-sharing schedule: means a timetable that must be included in the parenting plan that specifies the time, including overnights and holidays, that a minor child will spend with each parent. See Florida Statutes 61.046
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Tribe: means an Indian tribe, or band, or Alaskan Native village that is recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Tribunal: means a court, an arbitrator, an administrative agency, or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity which, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party's interests in a matter. See Florida Statutes 61.56
• Uniformed service: means any of the following:
  (a) Active and reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard of the United States. See Florida Statutes 61.703
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Warrant: means an order issued by a court authorizing law enforcement officers to take physical custody of a child. See Florida Statutes 61.503
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01