Terms Used In California Codes > Health and Safety Code > Division 102 > Part 1 > Chapter 5 > Article 4 - Voluntary Declaration of Parentage

• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• County: includes "city and county. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 14
• custody: means the legal right to custody of the child unless that right is held jointly by two or more persons, in which case "custody" means the physical custody of the child by one of the persons sharing the right to custody. See California Welfare and Institutions Code 17.1
• department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• order: include a decree, as appropriate under the circumstances. See California Family Code 100
• Person: includes a natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or public entity. See California Family Code 105
• Pro per: A slang expression sometimes used to refer to a pro se litigant. It is a corruption of the Latin phrase "in propria persona." ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Proceeding: includes an action. See California Family Code 110
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23