Quiz 3 Flashcards
Nonmarital child
A child born to parents who are not married to each other and who do not legitimate the child; illegitimate child.
Legal guardian
A court appointed individual who is legally responsible for the care of a minor child.
Affidavit of paternity
a man’s signed sworn statement containing facts that the man is the father of a child, often required if a man not married to the child’s mother wishes to be listed on the child’s birth certificate as the child’s father.
Rebuttable presumption
An assumption or inference drawn from certain facts, known to be true, that will be disproved by introducing evidence that the assumption is false, such as the presumption that the man is the biological father of a child born to a woman he is married to, which could be rebutted by the introduction of uncontroverted evidence that another man is the child’s father.
paternity action
where the petitioning party, usually the child’s mother but occasionally the father, requests that the court hold a hearing to establish whether a particular man is the child’s biological father.
DNA test
a genetic testing in which deoxyribonucleic acid is extracted from body cells to determine a relationship between two or more persons; this test is used to determine paternity.
Putative father
a man who is suspected of being or believed to be the biological father of a child born out of wedlock.
presumed father
the man presumed to be the father of a child for several reasons such as having been married to the child’s mother when the child was born, or because he married the child’s mother after the child was born and agreed to have his name be put on the birth certificate.
De Facto father
at common law, a man who signs a child’s birth certificate and/or completes an affidavit or acknowledgement of paternity, is deemed to be the child’s father before the law.
Mandatory reporter
a professional who is required by state statute to report suspected child abuse or neglect
parens patriae
The Latin term for the legal doctrine empowering the state to intervene to protect children when parents or guardians fail to do so
Mandatory reporting laws
Statutes requiring designated professionals to report suspected child abuse and neglect
Permissive reporters
an individual who reports suspected child abuse and neglect, but it is not legally obligated by statute to do so.
Family preservation
the legal requirement that state child protection services must make reasonable efforts to maintain children with their families or reunify them.
Reasonable efforts
to maintain children with their families, to reunify them, once the parents have have received short-term, family-focused, and community-based services.
Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)
A federal law that established the requirement that a permanency planning hearing must be held within twelve months of the child’s placement in foster care for the purpose of assessing whether the child should be returned home or whether termination of parental rights proceedings should commence for the purpose of making the child available for adoption.
Termination of parental rights
a court proceeding that serves the legal bonds between a parent and his or her biological child
Intimate partner violence
a gender-neutral term used in place of “wife” or “spousal abuse”
Criminal protective order
a court order issued by a judge in a criminal case against a defendant accused of a domestic violence related crime
Civil restraining order
court order obtained by a victim of a domestic violence in a family (civil) court
Temporary Restraining order
petition filed by a victim of domestic violence in a civil court where the victim alleges that the petitioner and/or members of the household are in immediate physical danger and as such, requesting relief from the court
ex parte
Latin term meaning “by one party” or “for one party”
stay away orders
prohibit the respondent in a domestic violence case from coming to the home, workplace, school, or other premises of the petitioner
No court orders
court order issued in a domestic violence case that prohibits any type of physical or electronic contact with the victim
Mandatory arrests
law that requires police officers to make an arrest if probable cause exists, thus removing police discretion
Probable cause
legal requirement that must exist for the police to make an arrest
dual arrests
where both parties involved in a domestic violence case are arrested, without a determination of who perpetrated the crime
Primary (or predominant) aggressor laws
statutes that require police officers to attempt to identify the “primary aggressor” when deciding whether to arrest both parties in domestic violence cases
Voluntary adoption
biological parents willingly relinquish their parental rights so another parent or parents may adopt their children
Involuntary adoption
parental rights are terminated by court order without parental consent
Safe Haven Laws
state statutes that allow parents to anonymously surrender infants to designated location in the community without fear of criminal prosecution
Home study
a preplacement assessment of prospective adoptive parents conducted by a licensed social worker who works for the state or a licensed adoption agency
stepparent adoption
an individual who marries a divorced or widowed person adopts his or her spouse’s children.
Hague Adoption Convention
International Treaty which requires member countries to establish a central authority and point of contract in the country
Surrogacy contract
agreement between a woman who will bear a child for a person or a couple who intend to adopt the child
Jointly and severally liable
one or both parties may be held responsible for taxes due as well as any additions, penalties, or interests
Innocent spouse relief
IRS rule that allows an aggrieved spouse to avoid full or partial liability arising from a joint tax return where a tax is assesed
Front loading
where the majority of property settlements in a divorce case are made in the first three years after the divorce
