👨‍👩‍👧 Family Court

Words from custody, support, and family court cases.

• Adoption (Legal Adoption)A court process that creates a permanent legal parent-child relationship. After adoption, the adopting parent has all the rights and responsibilities of a biolo…
• Alimony (Maintenance) (Spousal Support, Spousal Maintenance)Alimony (the common term) is called maintenance in New York courts. It is money paid by the higher-earning spouse to the lower-earning spouse during and after a…
• Annulment (Marriage Annulment)A court order declaring that a marriage was void or voidable from the start. New York allows an annulment for specific reasons listed in DRL §§ 140 and 141. One…
• Article 10 Proceeding (Child Protective Case, Neglect Case, CPS Case)A civil case in Family Court where a child protection agency claims a parent abused or neglected a child. It is not a criminal case — no jail comes out of Artic…
• Beneficiary (Named Beneficiary, Pay-on-Death)A person or organization named to receive property from a will, a trust, a life insurance policy, a retirement account, or a bank account at the original owner'…
• Best Interest of the Child (Best Interests Standard)The legal test New York courts use for custody, visitation, and other decisions about children. The standard does not favor mothers or fathers automatically. Th…
• Child Protective Services (CPS) (CPS, Child Welfare)The county agency that investigates reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. In Monroe County, CPS is part of the Department of Human Services. Investigatio…
• Child SupportMoney one parent pays the other to help cover the costs of raising their children. In New York, there is a set formula called the Child Support Standards Act (C…
• Custody (Legal Custody, Physical Custody)The legal word for who a child lives with and who makes the big decisions for them. There are two kinds. Legal custody is about who decides things like school, …
• Divorce (Marital Dissolution, No-Fault Divorce)A court order that legally ends a marriage. New York is a no-fault divorce state — one spouse can file by stating under oath that the marriage has been irretrie…
• Due Process Hearing (Impartial Hearing)A formal hearing to resolve disagreements between parents and a school district over special education. An independent hearing officer (not employed by the scho…
• Emancipation (Emancipated Minor)Emancipation means a person under 18 is treated as an adult for certain legal purposes. In New York, there is no court form a teenager can file to become emanci…
• Equitable Distribution (Marital Property Division)The legal rule for splitting property and debts when a New York marriage ends. New York is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state. The …
• Family CourtA special court in New York that handles most family-related cases. It hears custody, visitation, child support, family offense petitions (for orders of protect…
• Foster Care (Foster Placement)Temporary out-of-home care for a child whose parent cannot safely care for the child at the moment. Foster placements happen after a Family Court order in an Ar…
• Grandparent Rights (Grandparent Visitation, Grandparent Custody)New York grants grandparents limited rights to seek visitation or custody of grandchildren. Under DRL § 72, a grandparent has standing to petition for visitatio…
• Guardianship (Legal Guardian, Article 81, 17-A Guardianship)A guardianship is a court order that gives one person the authority to make decisions for another person (called the incapacitated person). In New York, there a…
• Health Care Proxy (Medical Power of Attorney, Health Care Agent)A short legal document under NY Public Health Law Article 29-C that names another person — the health care agent — to make medical decisions for the patient whe…
• IEP (Individualized Education Program)A written plan developed by the school and the parents that describes the special education services a child with a disability will receive. It includes the chi…
• Joint Custody (Shared Custody)A custody arrangement where both parents share legal authority over the child, parenting time, or both. Joint legal custody means both parents share major decis…
• Juvenile Delinquency (JD, Juvenile Delinquent)A Family Court process for youth ages 7 through 17 (with some recent reforms moving older teens out) accused of acts that would be crimes if committed by an adu…
• Living Will (Advance Directive)A written document in which a person describes the medical treatment they would want — or refuse — if they later become unable to speak for themselves. Common t…
• Mandated ReporterA person whose job requires them by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the state hotline. In New York, mandated reporters include teachers, schoo…
• Person in Need of Supervision (PINS)A Family Court case for a child under 18 who is not under control and whose behavior is not a crime — like skipping school, running away, or not obeying a paren…
• Power of Attorney (POA) (POA, Durable Power of Attorney)A power of attorney is a legal document where one person (called the principal) gives another person (called the agent) the authority to act on their behalf for…
• Probate (Probate Process, Estate Administration)The court process that handles a deceased person's will and estate. The will is filed in Surrogate's Court along with a petition. The judge confirms the will is…
• Separation Agreement (Marital Separation Agreement)A written contract between spouses who plan to live apart, settling the issues that would otherwise be decided in a divorce. The agreement covers property divis…
• Sole Custody (Sole Legal Custody, Sole Physical Custody)A custody arrangement where one parent has primary authority and the child usually lives mostly with that parent. Sole legal custody gives one parent the right …
• Special Needs Trust (SNT, Supplemental Needs Trust)A trust set up to hold money for a person with a disability without making them lose SSI, Medicaid, or other means-tested benefits. There are two main kinds. A …
• Supervised Visitation (Monitored Visitation)Court-ordered parenting time that takes place with a neutral third party present. The supervisor can be a relative the court approves, a professional supervisor…
• Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) (TPR, Parental Rights Termination)A Family Court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and a child. After a TPR, the child can be adopted by another family. New Yor…
• Trustee (Successor Trustee)A person or institution that holds and manages property in a trust for the benefit of the trust's beneficiary. The trustee has a fiduciary duty — a legal duty t…
• Visitation (Parenting Time, Access)The time a child spends with a parent who does not have primary physical custody. A court order sets out the schedule — which days, what times, how holidays and…
• Will (Last Will and Testament, Testament)A written document that directs how a person's property is distributed after death. To be valid in New York, a will must be signed by the person making it (call…