A prenuptial agreement, also known as antenuptial agreement, premarital agreement, or prenup, is a contract entered into prior to marriage setting the terms for separation. In general, provisions that tend to unreasonably encourage divorce or...
divorce
quasi-community property
Quasi-community property is the property spouses acquired when they were not domiciled in a community property state. Community property states (i.e. Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin...
separate property
Separate property is property that is owned by one spouse and not the other. There are two categories of marital property; community property, and separate property. Community property is when spouses share all property equally. However, even...
separation
In general, a separation is the termination of any contractual relationship (e.g., a contract for employment).
In family law, a separation is a situation in which spouses live apart from each other because of a judicial...
separation agreement
A separation agreement is a voluntary agreement between spouses, made during divorce proceedings or formal separation, that may govern issues such as property division, alimony, maintenance, child support, and child custody.
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sole custody
Sole custody is an arrangement where - after the separation or divorce of a minor child’s parents - only one parent has physical custody and/or legal custody. Physical custody determines who lives with and cares for the child. Legal custody...
spousal support
Spousal support, also known as alimony, is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial support to their spouse before or after marital separation or divorce. The purpose of spousal support is to limit any unfair economic effects of a...
stayaway order
Stay away order is a form of restraining order in which a court orders someone not to go within a certain distance of another person or place. Like other restraining orders, a stay away order generally is given when someone has experienced or...
stepparent
A stepparent, including stepfather and stepmother, is a person who marries one’s own parent after the death or divorce of the other parent and therefore has no biological relationship to the child. Stepparents are not legal parents of the...
stepparent adoption
Stepparent adoption is the legal, formal adoption of a child by a stepparent who is married to a legal parent of that child. Stepparent adoption is the most common type of adoption in the United States, with conditions such as voluntary...