family court

noun

: court of domestic relations

Examples of family court in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lambert previously spent four years on the Kentucky Court of Appeals and has also served as a family court judge. —Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 26 Nov. 2024

Under the revision, divorced parents who choose joint custody must reach a consensus on their children’s education, long-term medical treatment and other key issues, and will need to seek a family court decision if an agreement cannot be reached. —Mari Yamaguchi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 May 2024

But Sakai, a former family court judge, balked at the idea of adding another court when the current one couldn’t get its lawyers to show up. —Brooke Park, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Oct. 2024

Elon Musk appeared in Travis County family court in Austin on Friday amid an ongoing custody dispute with the mother of three of his children. —Tony Plohetski, Austin American-Statesman, 2 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

family court

noun

: a court that has jurisdiction and often advisory powers over domestic disputes involving the rights and duties of husband, wife, parent, or child especially in matters affecting the support, custody, and welfare of children compare juvenile court