final decree
Court's concluding judgment
A final decree is a court's conclusive judgment that resolves all issues in a case and ends the litigation.
The term appears most often in divorce proceedings, where a final decree formally dissolves the marriage and settles matters like property division, custody, and support: The final decree was issued six months after they filed for divorce.
Distinguished from interlocutory or preliminary orders, which address temporary matters while the case proceeds.
Reasoned decision-making capacity
- verdictOfficial court decision
- rulingFormal legal determination
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
- pronouncementFormal authoritative statement
dissolution · court order · annulment · custody ruling · property division · alimony · child support · legal separation
Act of ending something
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- completionAct of finishing
- endingFinal portion of something
- culminationHighest or final point
settlement · resolution · wrap-up · dissolution · severance · discontinuation · cessation · closure
Cannot be undone
- conclusiveEnding all debate
- absoluteTotal, without qualification
- definitiveSettling a question finally
- bindingLegally or morally required
permanent · unalterable · irreversible · unchangeable · settled · unchallengeable · enforceable · executed
Formal authoritative directive
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- judicial powerCourts' constitutional authority
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
- complianceAdhering to requirements
judgment
Reasoned decision-making capacity
- verdictOfficial court decision
- rulingFormal legal determination
- adjudicationFormal decision on disputes
pronouncement · dissolution · court order · annulment · custody ruling · property division · alimony · child support · legal separation · family court
termination
Act of ending something
- conclusionEnd or deduction
- completionAct of finishing
- endingFinal portion of something
culmination · settlement · resolution · wrap-up · dissolution · severance · discontinuation · cessation · closure
irrevocable
Cannot be undone
- conclusiveEnding all debate
- absoluteTotal, without qualification
- definitiveSettling a question finally
binding · permanent · unalterable · irreversible · unchangeable · settled · unchallengeable · enforceable · executed · entered
mandate
Formal authoritative directive
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- judicial powerCourts' constitutional authority
- enforcementCompelling compliance with rules
- divorcedivorce court, divorce papers, divorce filing, divorce lawyer, divorce petition
- estate paperslast will, testament, codicil, letters testamentary, death certificate
- legal finalitycollateral estoppel, double jeopardy, preclusion
- family lawchild custody, child support, alimony, family court, divorce petitions
- inheritanceinheritance, inheritances, heir, heirs, heiress
- Scottish courtssheriff, circuit courts, district courts, criminal jurisdiction, civil procedure
final, finale, finality, finally, finals, finalize, finalized, finalizing, finalization