Terms Used In Vermont Statutes > Title 15A > Chapter 6 - Records of Adoption Proceeding; Retention, Confidentiality, and Access

• 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
• Agency: means the Department or a child-placing public or private entity that is licensed in this State to place minors for adoption. See
• 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.
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Circumstantial evidence: All evidence except eyewitness testimony.
• 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.
• Court: means the court with jurisdiction over the proceeding. See
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department for Children and Families. See
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• Fees: shall mean earnings due for official services, aside from salaries or per diem compensation. See
• following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
• Former parent: means the parent of the adoptee whose rights were terminated, voluntarily or involuntarily. See
• 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
• Identifying information: means any information which might establish the current whereabouts of an adoptee, the adoptee's former parent or other family member, including full name, date and place of birth, and last known address. 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.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Minor: means a person who has not attained 18 years of age. See
• 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.
• 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
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Records: means all documents, exhibits and data pertaining to an adoption, whether collected prior to or after the decree of adoption. See
• Registry: means the adoption registry administered by the Department. See
• Relinquishment: means the voluntary surrender to an agency by a minor's parent or guardian, for purposes of the minor's adoption, of the rights of the parent or guardian with respect to the minor, including legal and physical custody of the minor. See
• 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).
• 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.
• Sibling: means a full or half brother or sister. 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
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Support: means periodic payments ordered for the support of dependent children or, for the purposes of sections 783-790 of this title only, a spouse. See
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.