Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 40 > Chapter 7 > Part 1 - General Provisions

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affidavit: means a sworn written declaration made before an officer authorized to administer oaths or an unsworn written declaration made under penalty of perjury as provided in 1-6-105. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Child: means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Child custody determination: means a judgment, decree, or other order of a court providing for the legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Child custody proceeding: means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child is an issue. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Commencement: means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Court: means an entity authorized under the law of a state to establish, enforce, or modify a child custody determination. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Deposition: means a written declaration under oath or affirmation, made upon notice to the adverse party for the purpose of enabling the adverse party to attend and cross-examine. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• 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.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Modification: means a child custody determination that changes, replaces, supersedes, or is otherwise made after a previous determination concerning the same child, whether or not it is made by the court that made the previous determination. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Person: includes a government, a governmental subdivision, an agency, an instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Physical custody: means the physical care and supervision of a child. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Tribe: means an Indian tribe or band or Alaskan Native village that is recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state. See Montana Code 40-7-103
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203