Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 15A > Chapter 5 - Adoption of Adults and Emancipated Minors

• Adoptee: means a person who is adopted or is to be adopted. See
• Adult: means a person who has attained 18 years of age. See
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Child: means a minor or an adult son or daughter, by birth or adoption. See
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Court: means the court with jurisdiction over the proceeding. See
• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• 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.
• Guardian: means a person, other than a parent, appointed by a court to act as a parent for another individual and specifically authorized by the Court to place the individual for adoption. See
• 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.
• Justice: when applied to a person, other than a Justice of the Supreme Court, shall mean a justice of the peace for the county for which he or she is elected or appointed. See
• Minor: means a person who has not attained 18 years of age. See
• Parent: means a person who is legally recognized as a mother or father or whose consent to the adoption of a minor is required under subdivision 2-401(a)(1)-(4) or (6) of this title. See
• Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
• Personal estate: shall include all property other than real estate. See
• Probate: Proving a will
• Psychiatric disability: means an impairment of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that limits one or more major life activities but does not include intellectual disability. See
• Records: means all documents, exhibits and data pertaining to an adoption, whether collected prior to or after the decree of adoption. See
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See
• Stepparent: means a person who is the spouse or surviving spouse of a parent of a child but who is not a parent of the child. See
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.