In the fall of 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) mailed letters to parents who once had an open dependency and/or severance case.
Did you receive a letter? Visit the DCS letter page for more information.
Family Law
Glossaries
| Term | Main definition |
|---|---|
| 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. |