Virginia family-law glossary
Plain-language definitions of terms people often encounter when reading about divorce, custody, support, protective orders, and related topics in Virginia—from pendente lite and equitable distribution to guardian ad litem and imputed income. Each entry links to a longer topic page on this site. Definitions are general information only—not legal advice.
A
- Alimony
- A common everyday word for spousal support—money one spouse may be ordered to pay the other for maintenance after separation or divorce.
More on Spousal support →
B
- Best-interest factors
- The list of considerations Virginia courts must weigh when deciding custody and visitation, set out in Va. Code § 20-124.3 (for example, the child’s relationship with each parent, needs, and each parent’s role).
More on Child custody →
C
- Child support guidelines
- Virginia’s income-shares worksheets and schedules (commonly under § 20-108.2) used to calculate a presumptive child-support amount from parental income, parenting time, and certain add-ons.
More on Child support → - Circuit Court
- Virginia’s trial court of general jurisdiction. Divorce suits are generally heard in Circuit Court; some related family matters may begin or also appear in Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court.
More on Court locator → - Contempt
- A court proceeding to enforce obedience to a civil order (such as custody, visitation, or support). Willful disobedience can lead to remedies ordered by the court that issued the order.
More on Orders & related offenses → - Custodial interference
- A criminal offense under Va. Code § 18.2-49.1 involving knowingly, wrongfully, and intentionally engaging in a clear and significant violation of a custody or visitation order.
More on Orders & related offenses →
D
- DFAS
- Defense Finance and Accounting Service—the federal office that often administers military pay and, when rules allow, direct payments of divided military retired pay under a qualifying court order.
More on Military divorce →
E
- Emergency protective order (EPO)
- A short-term protective order a judge or magistrate may issue under Va. Code § 16.1-253.4, typically lasting until 11:59 p.m. on the third day after issuance (with limited extensions).
More on Protective orders → - Equitable distribution
- Virginia’s system for classifying and dividing marital property and debts in divorce under Va. Code § 20-107.3. It is not automatic 50/50 “community property”; the court aims for a fair division based on statutory factors.
More on Divorce →
F
- Family abuse
- A defined concept in Title 16.1 that underlies many family-abuse protective-order cases—generally involving certain acts of violence, force, or threat by a family or household member.
More on Protective orders → - Fault divorce
- A divorce granted on a fault ground listed in Va. Code § 20-91 (such as adultery, cruelty, or desertion), as opposed to a no-fault divorce based on living separate and apart.
More on Divorce →
G
- Guardian ad litem (GAL)
- An attorney appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child (or sometimes another person) in a case. The GAL investigates and makes recommendations; the GAL is not the child’s “hired” lawyer in the ordinary sense.
More on Child custody →
I
- Imputed income
- Income a court may attribute to a parent or spouse who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, for support calculations, instead of using only actual earnings.
More on Child support → - Income-shares model
- Virginia’s child-support approach that combines both parents’ incomes, finds a basic obligation on a schedule, and allocates it according to each parent’s share of income (with worksheet adjustments).
More on Child support →
J
- Juvenile & Domestic Relations (J&DR) District Court
- The district court that generally hears custody, visitation, child support, family-abuse protective orders, and many other juvenile and family matters.
More on Court locator →
L
- Legal custody
- Authority to make major decisions for a child (often associated with education, non-emergency health care, and religious upbringing). Joint legal custody means both parents share that decision-making responsibility.
More on Child custody →
M
- Marital property
- Property classified as marital under Virginia equitable-distribution rules and generally subject to division between spouses, as distinct from separate property.
More on Divorce →
N
- No-fault divorce
- A divorce based on living separate and apart for the statutory period under § 20-91(A)(9), without needing to prove a fault ground such as adultery or cruelty.
More on Divorce →
P
- Pendente lite
- Latin for “pending the litigation”—temporary orders (for support, custody, use of a home, etc.) that can apply while a divorce or related case is ongoing, before a final decree.
More on Spousal support → - Physical custody
- Where a child primarily lives and how day-to-day care and parenting time are arranged. Joint physical custody means both parents share physical custodial care; schedules need not be exactly equal.
More on Child custody → - Preliminary protective order (PPO)
- An interim protective order under Va. Code § 16.1-253.1 that can provide protection after an emergency order (or on its own) pending a fuller hearing on longer-term relief.
More on Protective orders → - Protective order
- A court order limiting contact or other conduct to protect someone from family abuse or related harm. In the Title 16.1 family-abuse track, people commonly research emergency, preliminary, and longer-term orders.
More on Protective orders →
R
- Relocation
- A proposed move with a child that can affect custody or visitation. Virginia orders often include notice requirements (see § 20-124.5), and courts evaluate moves under the best-interests standard.
More on Relocation of children →
S
- SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act)
- Federal law that can affect civil court timelines and protections for eligible active-duty service members, including in some divorce and family cases.
More on Military divorce → - Separate property
- Property generally not divided as marital property in equitable distribution—often assets owned before marriage, certain gifts or inheritances, or other categories defined in § 20-107.3.
More on Divorce → - Separation agreement
- A written contract between spouses resolving issues such as property, support, and custody. It can affect no-fault timing in some cases and may be incorporated into a divorce decree.
More on Divorce → - Shared-custody support
- A child-support worksheet approach often used when each parent has the child for more than a threshold number of days per year (commonly discussed as more than 90 days under guideline definitions).
More on Child support → - Spousal support
- Court-ordered maintenance and support one spouse may pay the other. Virginia’s principal statute is Va. Code § 20-107.1; modification rules often involve § 20-109.
More on Spousal support → - Stepparent adoption
- An adoption in which a spouse seeks to become the legal parent of a stepchild, typically requiring consent or another legally sufficient resolution of the other legal parent’s rights.
More on Adoption →
U
- USFSPA
- Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act—federal law that allows state courts, within limits, to treat disposable military retired pay as property divisible in divorce.
More on Military divorce →
V
- Visitation (parenting time)
- The schedule of time a child spends with a parent (or sometimes another person). Modern discussion often uses “parenting time”; Virginia statutes still use custody and visitation language.
More on Child custody →
Also see all topics, court locator, and legal aid resources.