Family Law, Divorce, Support and Custody Glossary Terms

The castle doctrine simply creates a presumption that one has acted in self defense.

A newer divorce process where both spouses are represented by lawyers but an agreement is created and signed in advance (by both spouses and their attorneys) about the way in which the divorce will be conducted. Collaborative divorce agreements include goals of having spouses and their attorneys meet together to try to negotiate a settlement and participants make a promise not to threaten each other, play games, or end up going to court. If the parties can’t find agreement without ending up in court, Collaborative Law attorneys agree to withdraw from the case, creating financial motivation for them to help the process work. The Collaborative Divorce process is designed to be faster, less expensive, more private, and less confrontational but it may not be appropriate if the spouses are too adversarial or unable to negotiate in good faith.

When two people become legally married by living together for a long period of time. There is no ceremony or license. The couple must intend to be married and present themselves as a married couple for the common-law marriage to be valid. Common-law marriage is valid in eleven states. It is not valid in Ohio. Common-law marriage can only be ended by annulment, divorce, or death.

Also known as the Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities. Custody refers to the legal status within a divorce that details who will be responsible for day-to-day care of the child, with whom the child will live most frequently, who will have the right to make long-term decisions about the child, and when/how often the child will spend time with each parent as well as where the child will attend school. Shared Parenting agreements address the various factors individually, often granting one parent physical custody (meaning the child lives primarily with them but visits the other parent every other weekend and holiday) but having both parents share legal custody (the legal right to make long-term decisions for the child). Sole custody agreements (with one parent holding all physical and legal decision-making power for the child) are unusual but may be awarded if one parent is particularly unfit or incapable of responsibility (i.e. due to drug addiction).