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Oregon Judicial Department Forms
Family Law Forms - Dissolution of Marriage/Domestic Partnership FAPA Restraining Orders - Application and Instructions Fees - Application for Deferrals and Waivers Small Claims Forms - Plaintiffs, Defendants, Instructions |
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Useful Definitions
Custody: Custody is the authority to make major decisions for a child. Major decisions consist of residence, education, medical care, religion and extra-curricular activities.
Joint Custody means that both parents have an equal right to make these major decisions.
Sole Custody means that one parent has the right to make the final decision if the parents cannot reach an agreement.
A non-custodial parent may make emergency medical decisions for a child if the custodial parent is unavailable. Likewise, a non-custodial parent may take the child to his or her church, but not enroll the child as a member of that church.
A custodial parent may not move more than 60 miles from his or her current residence without permission from either the other parent or the court.
Parenting Time: Parenting time is the time a child spends in a parent’s home. It is unrelated to custody. Parents may have joint custody and the child spends 90% of his time with one parent and 10% of his time with the other parent. A parent may have sole custody but share 50/50 parenting time.
Child Support: Child support is calculated by statute. Factors are each parents’ gross monthly income (with some exceptions, a non-working parent is presumed to earn minimum wage), the number of overnights the child spends with each parent, the number of any non-joint children, the cost of work-related child care, the cost of the children’s health insurance, and whether the child receives disability benefits.
Spousal Support: There are three types of spousal support: transitional, compensatory, and maintenance. The threshold questions are: Does the requesting spouse need the support in order to maintain a post-divorce standard of living not overly disparate from that enjoyed during the marriage; and can the non-requesting spouse afford to pay support?
Transitional support is temporary support designed to help a spouse complete his or her education or get back into the work force to become self-sufficient, such as the spouse who has been out of the work-force for a few years to raise the children.
Compensatory support is permanent support designed to compensate a spouse whose efforts enabled the other spouse to pursue a career and obtain a higher income that he or she would have obtained otherwise. Think of the teacher who supports his wife while she attends medical school with the understanding that he will eventually have the economic benefit of being married to a doctor.
Maintenance support is designed to assist a spouse who will never be able to achieve the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage; such as the older spouse with a high-school education and no work experience who relied upon her husband for support during a long-term marriage. This type of spouse is unlikely to ever have the earning capacity of her spouse and is likely to be awarded maintenance support for at least some period of time. Spousal support may be for a fixed period of time or permanent. Spousal support may be modified upon a showing of an unanticipated change of circumstances.
Property Division: Property acquired during the marriage, regardless of title, is a marital asset and subject to an equal division unless one spouse can overcome the presumption that the other party made an equal contribution to the asset. This is a fairly uncommon occurrence and generally applies to inheritances or property purchased with money that can be traced back to a spouse’s pre-marital property. Generally, houses purchased during the marriage, retirement and bank accounts accrued during the marriage, as well as the increase in value of property owned prior to the marriage are marital assets. Pre-marital property is not a marital asset, but the increase in value from the date of marriage to the date of divorce is a marital asset.
Debts: Like property, debts acquired during the marriage is the equal responsibility of both parties, regardless of the name associated with the debt. Student loans are generally an exception, although the portion of student loans used for living expenses during the marriage is a joint debt. Debt incurred for the benefit of one spouse, such as a gambling debt, may not be considered joint debt, but a spouse’s medical debt incurred during the marriage is joint debt. The debt attached to property, such as a car loan, is generally assumed by the person who is awarded the property.
Restoration of Former Name: A spouse may elect to return to a former name but may not be compelled to do so. A spouse must return to a former name, not a brand-new name.
Joint Custody means that both parents have an equal right to make these major decisions.
Sole Custody means that one parent has the right to make the final decision if the parents cannot reach an agreement.
A non-custodial parent may make emergency medical decisions for a child if the custodial parent is unavailable. Likewise, a non-custodial parent may take the child to his or her church, but not enroll the child as a member of that church.
A custodial parent may not move more than 60 miles from his or her current residence without permission from either the other parent or the court.
Parenting Time: Parenting time is the time a child spends in a parent’s home. It is unrelated to custody. Parents may have joint custody and the child spends 90% of his time with one parent and 10% of his time with the other parent. A parent may have sole custody but share 50/50 parenting time.
Child Support: Child support is calculated by statute. Factors are each parents’ gross monthly income (with some exceptions, a non-working parent is presumed to earn minimum wage), the number of overnights the child spends with each parent, the number of any non-joint children, the cost of work-related child care, the cost of the children’s health insurance, and whether the child receives disability benefits.
Spousal Support: There are three types of spousal support: transitional, compensatory, and maintenance. The threshold questions are: Does the requesting spouse need the support in order to maintain a post-divorce standard of living not overly disparate from that enjoyed during the marriage; and can the non-requesting spouse afford to pay support?
Transitional support is temporary support designed to help a spouse complete his or her education or get back into the work force to become self-sufficient, such as the spouse who has been out of the work-force for a few years to raise the children.
Compensatory support is permanent support designed to compensate a spouse whose efforts enabled the other spouse to pursue a career and obtain a higher income that he or she would have obtained otherwise. Think of the teacher who supports his wife while she attends medical school with the understanding that he will eventually have the economic benefit of being married to a doctor.
Maintenance support is designed to assist a spouse who will never be able to achieve the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage; such as the older spouse with a high-school education and no work experience who relied upon her husband for support during a long-term marriage. This type of spouse is unlikely to ever have the earning capacity of her spouse and is likely to be awarded maintenance support for at least some period of time. Spousal support may be for a fixed period of time or permanent. Spousal support may be modified upon a showing of an unanticipated change of circumstances.
Property Division: Property acquired during the marriage, regardless of title, is a marital asset and subject to an equal division unless one spouse can overcome the presumption that the other party made an equal contribution to the asset. This is a fairly uncommon occurrence and generally applies to inheritances or property purchased with money that can be traced back to a spouse’s pre-marital property. Generally, houses purchased during the marriage, retirement and bank accounts accrued during the marriage, as well as the increase in value of property owned prior to the marriage are marital assets. Pre-marital property is not a marital asset, but the increase in value from the date of marriage to the date of divorce is a marital asset.
Debts: Like property, debts acquired during the marriage is the equal responsibility of both parties, regardless of the name associated with the debt. Student loans are generally an exception, although the portion of student loans used for living expenses during the marriage is a joint debt. Debt incurred for the benefit of one spouse, such as a gambling debt, may not be considered joint debt, but a spouse’s medical debt incurred during the marriage is joint debt. The debt attached to property, such as a car loan, is generally assumed by the person who is awarded the property.
Restoration of Former Name: A spouse may elect to return to a former name but may not be compelled to do so. A spouse must return to a former name, not a brand-new name.