Glossary of Child Support Terms
Child support laws vary in the United States. We provide legal definitions for terms used in court-ordered support payment documents, custody and visitation and other divorce paperwork.
Here are the results for the letter d
- deadbeat dad
- This term is oftentimes used to describe fathers who do not support their children financially by not paying child support. We feel this term is not fair to the huge majority of dads who faithfully support their children both emotionally and financially. Further, there are cases where these so called "deadbeat dads" truly want to support their children but are not able to at the present time due to being unemployed, incarcerated, injured or sick. We feel that "non-custodial parent" or "absent parent" is a more appropriate term than deadbeat dad or deadbeat mom. That having been said, dads or moms who willingly choose to not support their children, even though they have the means to, is a deplorable act and these people, male or female, should be pursued and made to pay.
- default order or judgement
- Order or judgment made based only on the plaintiff's complaint, due to no response or appearance of the defendant
- desertion
- When a spouse leaves the marital home for more than a year, without prior agreement between the spouses, without paying support, and not as a result of actions of remaining spouse. Desertion is one of several grounds for a fault divorce in many states.
- disposable income
- Gross income, less deductions for taxes, insurance, and in some cases union dues. The amount of child support is often set by a percentage of the non-custodial parent's disposable income.
- divorce
- A final decree required to legally terminate a valid marriage
- dower
- A wife's common law right to inherit from her husband
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