§ 50A-351. Definitions.

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1)Adult. - An individual who is at least 18 years of age or an emancipated minor.

(2)Caretaking authority. - The right to live with and care for a child on a day-to-day basis, including physical custody, parenting time, right to access, and visitation.

(3)Child. - An

(i)unemancipated individual who has not attained 18 years of age or

(ii)adult son or daughter by birth or adoption who is the subject of an existing court order concerning custodial responsibility.

(4)Close and substantial relationship. - A relationship in which a significant bond exists between a child and a nonparent.

(5)Court. - An entity authorized under the laws of this State to establish, enforce, or modify a decision regarding custodial responsibility.

(6)Custodial responsibility. - A comprehensive term that includes any and all powers and duties relating to caretaking authority and decision-making authority for a child. The term includes custody, physical custody, legal custody, parenting time, right to access, visitation, and the authority to designate limited contact with a child.

(7)Decision-making authority. - The power to make important decisions regarding a child, including decisions regarding the child's education, religious training, health care, extracurricular activities, and travel. The term does not include day-to-day decisions that necessarily accompany a grant of caretaking authority.

(8)Deploying parent. - A service member, who is deployed or has been notified of impending deployment, and is

(i)a parent of a child or

(ii)an individual other than a parent who has custodial responsibility of a child.

(9)Deployment. - The movement or mobilization of a service member to a location for more than 90 days, but less than 18 months, pursuant to an official order that

(i)is designated as unaccompanied;

(ii)does not authorize dependent travel; or

(iii)otherwise does not permit the movement of family members to that location.

(10)Family member. - A sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, stepparent, or grandparent of a child, and an individual recognized to be in a familial relationship with a child.

(11)Limited contact. - The opportunity for a nonparent to visit with a child for a limited period of time. The term includes authority to take the child to a place other than the residence of the child.

(12)Nonparent. - An individual other than a deploying parent or other parent.

(13)Other parent. - An individual who, in common with a deploying parent, is

(i)the parent of a child or

(ii)an individual other than a parent with custodial responsibility of a child.

(14)Record. - Information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(15)Return from deployment. - The conclusion of a service member's deployment as specified in uniformed service orders.

(16)Service member. - A member of a uniformed service.

(17)State. - A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(18)Uniformed service. - Service which includes

(i)the active and reserve components of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard;

(ii)the Merchant Marine, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, or the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States; or

(iii)the National Guard. (2013-27, s. 3; 2025-20, s. 2.6.)