Family Mediation Terms in Plain Language
Plain-language definitions of terms you’ll run into during Florida family mediation. This is general information, not legal advice — for how a term applies to your specific situation, ask your attorney or raise it during your session.
Terms are grouped by topic. Each has its own anchor link if you want to share or bookmark a specific definition.
The Mediation Process
Time-Sharing
The schedule of when each parent spends time with a child. Florida courts use this term rather than “custody.”
Parenting Plan
The written document covering time-sharing, decision-making, and communication between parents. Read more →
Shared Parental Responsibility
Florida's default arrangement in which both parents retain decision-making authority over major aspects of the child's life, unless a court finds it would be detrimental to the child. Read more →
Caucus
A private meeting between the mediator and one party during a session. What is said in caucus stays confidential per the rules agreed at orientation.
Conflict Check
The mediator's review, before anything substantive, of whether relationships or circumstances could affect impartiality.
Memorandum of Understanding
A written summary of the terms the parties reached in mediation, often reviewed by attorneys before final signing.
Self-Determination
The principle that the parties — not the mediator, and not a judge — make the decisions in mediation.
Property and Debt
Marital Property
Assets and debts acquired during the marriage, as distinct from either party's non-marital property.
Equitable Distribution
Florida's framework for dividing marital property and debt upon dissolution.
Enterprise Goodwill vs. Personal Goodwill
Two kinds of value in a business. Enterprise goodwill is the value of the business itself, independent of who runs it — generally treated as marital property. Personal goodwill is value tied to one individual's own reputation and relationships — generally not. Read more →
Indemnification
A settlement provision requiring a spouse who fails to pay a debt they were assigned to reimburse the other spouse for any resulting cost, including credit damage. Read more →
Capital Gains Exclusion
A federal tax rule allowing a homeowner to exclude a set amount of profit from the sale of a primary residence — up to $250,000 single or $500,000 married filing jointly, with special rules that can apply in divorce. Read more →
Retirement Benefits
QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order)
A specialized court order, prepared by counsel after a settlement, used to divide most private employer retirement plans (401(k)s, 403(b)s, private pensions). Public pensions, federal plans, and military retirement each use a different kind of order. Read more →
DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program)
A payout-phase program available under some public pension plans, including the Florida Retirement System, where a member's pension accrues in a separate account for a set period before they fully retire. Read more →
WEP / GPO (Windfall Elimination Provision / Government Pension Offset)
Former federal rules that reduced Social Security benefits for many public-pension recipients. Both were repealed in 2025, retroactive to January 2024. Read more →
Divorced-Spouse Benefit
A Social Security benefit available to a divorced spouse based on their ex-spouse's work record, generally requiring a marriage of at least 10 years. Does not reduce the ex-spouse's own benefit. Read more →
Survivor Benefit
A Social Security benefit available to a divorced spouse after an ex-spouse's death, generally requiring a marriage of at least 10 years — with eligibility as early as age 60 (50 if disabled), and remarriage at or after 60 not ending the claim. Read more →
Support and Taxes
Durational, Bridge-the-Gap, and Rehabilitative Alimony
The three forms of alimony available under Florida's current law. Permanent alimony was eliminated by the 2023 reform. Read more →
Dependency Exemption / Form 8332
The IRS rule determining which parent claims a child as a dependent after divorce — by default, the parent the child lived with more nights during the year, unless that parent signs a release (Form 8332) for the other parent to claim the child instead. Read more →
COBRA
A federal law allowing a former spouse to continue employer health coverage after divorce, at their own cost, for up to 36 months. Read more →
Imputed Income
An income figure a court attributes to a parent for support purposes when they appear to be earning significantly less than their skills and work history would support. Read more →
Extraordinary Expenses
Child-related costs a court may recognize as grounds to deviate from the child support guideline, such as extraordinary medical, psychological, or educational expenses. Read more →
This glossary is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. How any of these terms applies to your specific situation should be confirmed with your attorney or the relevant professional.