Terms Used In Indiana Code > Title 34 > Article 12 > Chapter 2 - Certain Domestic Relations Actions

• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Attorney: includes a counselor or other person authorized to appear and represent a party in an action or special proceeding. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• in writing: include printing, lithographing, or other mode of representing words and letters. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.