Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 36 > Chapter 5 > Part 24 - Uniform Interstate Family Support Act - Establishment of Support Order or Determination of Parentage

• 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.
• Child: means an individual, whether over or under the age of majority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support by the individual's parent or who is or is alleged to be the beneficiary of a support order directed to the parent. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Duty of support: means an obligation imposed or imposable by law to provide support for a child, spouse, or former spouse, including an unsatisfied obligation to provide support. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• 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.
• 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.
• General partner: means a person that:
  (A) Has become a general partner under §. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Good standing with the department of revenue: means the secretary of state has received and verified through electronic confirmation or a certificate of tax clearance issued by the commissioner of revenue that a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership is current on all fees, taxes, and penalties to the satisfaction of the commissioner. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• 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.
• Jurisdiction of formation: means the jurisdiction whose laws govern the internal affairs of an entity. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Law: includes decisional and statutory law and rules and regulations having the force of law. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• Letter of good standing from the department of revenue: means a letter issued by the department of revenue that a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership is current on all fees, taxes, and penalties to the satisfaction of the commissioner. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Limited partner: means a person that:
  (A) Has become a limited partner under §. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• 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.
• Obligor: means an individual, or the estate of a decedent that:
  (A) Owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• Outside this state: means a location in another state or a country other than the United States, whether or not the country is a foreign country. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• Partner: means a limited partner or general partner. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• 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.
• Person: means an individual, business corporation, nonprofit corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, cooperative association, unincorporated nonprofit association, statutory trust, business trust, common-law business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Principal office: means the principal executive office of a limited partnership or foreign limited partnership, whether or not the office is located in this state. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Property: means all property, whether real, personal, mixed, or tangible or intangible, or any right or interest in such property. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Record: when used as a noun, 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 Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Registered foreign limited partnership: means a foreign limited partnership that is registered to do business in this state pursuant to a statement of registration filed by the secretary of state. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• 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).
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Responding tribunal: means the authorized tribunal in a responding state or foreign country. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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 under the jurisdiction of the United States. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• 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 Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Support enforcement agency: means a public official, governmental entity, or private agency authorized to:
  (A) Seek enforcement of support orders or laws relating to the duty of support. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• Support order: means a judgment, decree, order, decision, or directive, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, issued in a state or foreign country for the benefit of a child, a spouse, or a former spouse, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, retroactive support, or reimbursement for financial assistance provided to an individual obligee in place of child support. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Transfer: includes :
  (A) An assignment. See Tennessee Code 61-3-101
• Tribunal: means a court, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce, or modify support orders or to determine parentage of a child. See Tennessee Code 36-5-2101
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105