Term | Main definition |
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Parenting Plan | A written document containing an agreement between parents indicating how a child will be raised and cared for after the parents separate or divorce. A written parenting plan is required whenever parents ask the court to order joint custody. |
Parenting Time | The time a child spends with each parent according to a court order. |
Party | A person who has appeared in court in regard to an action and whose rights are subject to the jurisdiction of the court. |
Pass-Through | The amount of a collection, full or partial, which is paid to a custodial parent, including the $50 TANF disregard. |
Past Care Expenses | Past care expenses are those expenses for the actual costs of the pregnancy, childbirth and any genetic testing, and other related costs. |
Past Support | Past support is an amount determined to be due for the period between the commencement of the proceeding and the date that current child support is ordered to begin. |
Paternity | A decision that establishes a man as the legal father of a child. Paternity must be decided before a father can have parental rights, if the parents were never married. |
Payee | The person who receives the child support payments for the child. See: Obligee |
Payment History | A printed statement of payments received by the court clerk or the support payment clearinghouse. |
Payor | The person ordered by the court to make child support payments. This is usually the parent who is not living with the child. See: Obligor |
Petit (Trial) Jury | The group of people selected to decide the facts and render a verdict in a civil or criminal trial. |
Petition | A formal written request filed with the Clerk of the Court requesting the court to take action. |
Petition for Review | An application asking an appellate court to examine a ruling or decision. |
Plaintiff | Someone who brings an action, such as a complaint. |
Plea | Response of a defendant to the criminal charges stated; the plea is usually "guilty" or "not guilty." |
Plea Agreement | A process between the accused and the prosecution to negotiate a mutually satisfactory outcome of the case. |
Pleading | The process by which people file things in court, including beginning a case, responding to issues in court, and counterclaims. Eventually, only one or a few issues exist that the people disagree on, and these are the issues that the court decides upon. |
Points of Law | The legal questions that a case may raise. |
Pre-Filing Conference | A meeting intended to resolve issues in lieu of court action. |
Precinct | Geographic subdivision of city, town or county, used to describe the jurisdiction of a Justice of the Peace or for election purposes. |