Family Law

The statewide system for IV-D child support cases for Arizona. An ATLAS number is the “Arizona Tracking and Location Automated System” number given to child support cases. This is the account number for support payments at the Support Payment Clearinghouse. The ATLAS case number begins with numbers rather than letters.

Court proceeding in which the defendant stands before the judge to answer criminal charges by entering a plea of guilty or not guilty.

An amount of money that is overdue; usually this refers to the amount of child support that has been ordered but has not been paid on time.

A written judicial determination of the amount of support past due for a specific period of time.

An eligibility requirement for TANF whereby the applicant or recipient must assign to the state all rights to support he or she may have in their own behalf or on behalf of a dependent child.

See Judge in this Glossary.

The act of seizing a person or property under the authority of a judicial order so that the person or property is before the court, subject to its judgment.

One who is admitted to the State Bar of Arizona and who may represent clients in legal proceedings. Also called lawyers or counsel.

Money or other form of security the judge requires to be held by the court to ensure that a criminal defendant, released while awaiting trial, will be in court for the trial. Bail is returned when the defendant returns for trial.

Courtroom attendant responsible for keeping order in the courtroom and supervising the jury.

The seat where a judge sits in court.

The court may appoint an attorney to represent the interests of a minor or dependent child with respect to the support, custody and parenting time of the child.

The man who fathers a child by impregnating the mother.

Local governing body at the county level.

Written statement explaining facts of a case and laws that apply.

The obligation placed on one of the people in a dispute to prove their allegations in order to obtain relief from the court.

A person who receives TANF payments on behalf of a beneficiary incapable of managing the funds.

Lawsuit, suit or action being resolved through the court system.

Law composed of previous written decisions of appellate courts.

A number assigned by the court to identify your specific case. The case number in domestic relations is usually preceded by one or two letters such as: D, DO, or DR.