A Glossary Of Family Law Terms
Access: The opportunity to visit with a child. Under the terms of the Divorce Act, 1985, a spouse exercising access rights is also entitled to information about the child's health, welfare and education, unless a court orders otherwise.
Adultery: Sexual intercourse by a husband and wife with someone of the opposite sex who is not his or her spouse. Adultery is one of the ways marital breakdown can be established. (Note: A gay or lesbian relationship will not constitute adultery but may constitute mental cruelty.
Adversarial System: Canada's court system is designed to resolve disputes between two opposing parties. The parties present their respective sides of an issue through evidence. The judge acts as an impartial arbiter, weighing the evidence and deciding how the law applies in each specific case.
Affidavit: A sworn statement, typed and signed by a person involved in a family law matter. It is witnessed by someone, usually a lawyer, and filed in support of a motion.
Alimony: An old expression used to describe spousal support. Now that you know what it is, don't use it. Call it spousal support.
Appeal: When a person affected by a judge's decision believes that the judge has made a mistake, that person can ask a higher level of court to review the decision. The court reviewing the decision can uphold it, change it or send the matter back to the original court for reconsideration. There are strict time limits on this type of review.
Application: A court proceeding starts with the filing of certain documents with court officers and the serving of copies of these documents on other person affected. Details of the material to be included in this application, the document format and the filing fees are determined by provincial and territorial rules of court procedure.
Best Interest Test: This is the overriding consideration in custody and access matters. The court searches for that which will best serve the child's interests.
Certificate of Divorce: the actual piece of paper that officially describes the termination of the marriage. It is needed as proof of the divorce in order to get another marriage license.
Child: The Divorce Act defines a "child of the marriage" as a child of both spouses, a child of one of the spouses towards whom the other spouse acts as a parent or a child towards whom both spouses act as a parent. Biological children, adopted children and children looked after by the spouses may all be considered children of the marriage. The custody and support provisions of the divorce law apply to a child of the marriage who is under 16 years of age or who is over 16 and remains dependent on his or her parents because of illness, disability or other reasons.
Cohabitation Agreement: A Domestic contract signed by a man and woman who are living together or intend to live together but not marry. In it they may provide for ownership and division of property, support and any other matter affecting their relationship except custody of and access to children.
Collaborative Family Law: Both clients retain their own Collaborative Family Law trained lawyer. Both lawyers meet with both clients to help them find and focus on common interests, understand each other, explore a wide range of possible choices and reach solutions acceptable to both clients.
Collusion: An agreement or conspiracy to fabricate or suppress evidence, or to deceive the court. If evidence to support a divorce application is the result of collusion, the application can be rejected.
Condonation: The forgiveness of a matrimonial offence with full knowledge of the circumstances, followed by an acceptance of the offending spouse back into the family. A forgiven offence cannot be revived at a later date as a basis for a divorce. A legal opinion may be necessary to decide if a matrimonial offence has been condoned by the subsequent actions of the other spouse.
Connivance: The matrimonial misconduct of one spouse caused by, or knowingly, willfully or recklessly permitted by, the other spouse. Connivance in creating a basis for a divorce application can result in the application being rejected.
Common-Law Spouse: Almost all the provinces recognize that some men and women live together without getting married. While the precise definition varies from province to province, it means achieving the status of a spouse for some legal purposes, such as support, in the province.
Confidentiality: People in certain relationships are protected by law from having to give any evidence in court regarding communications between them. Communications between a lawyer and a client have this special protection. A court-appointed reconciliator also has this protection with regard to communications made in the course of attempting to reconcile spouses. Most professional associations have ethical guidelines regarding the confidentiality of communications between members and their clients. These guidelines form a very important part of the professional relationship. However, they do not necessarily provide protection from disclosure in court. The laws regarding the relationship between other professionals and their clients such as clergy and their parishioners, doctors and their patients, vary across the country. These professionals may be called upon to testify in court.
Contempt of Court: A method the court uses to control its own process. It is a willful disobedience of a court order punishable by fine or imprisonment or both.
Contested Divorce: If either the husband or wife disputes the ground for divorce, or if the spouses are unable to agree on parenting or support arrangements, a court will have to resolve these matters. A hearing will be held and both sides of the dispute will be entitled to present evidence supporting their view. The judge will consider the evidence presented and impose a solution.
Corollary Relief: Under the terms of the Divorce Act, 1985, people involved in a divorce proceeding can ask the court to make supplementary orders pertaining to financial support for a spouse or child, or for the custody of, or access to, a child of the marriage.
Costs: Sums payable for legal services. When matters are contested in court, a judge has the discretion to order that the losing party pay a portion of the successful party's legal costs.
Custody: Control and decision making over a child, given to an adult by the court. This control generally includes physical care of the child and the responsibility to make decisions regarding education, religion and health care, and to provide food, clothing and shelter.
Dependent: A person who relies on someone else for financial support. In the context of divorce law, may include a spouse or child.
Disbursements: Out-of-pocket expenses incurred in a family law matter, such as the cost of paying for the Statement of Claim to be issued at the court house or the cost of paying someone to deliver it to your spouse. It could also be the cost of a family law assessment.
Discoveries: A step in legal proceedings where lawyers get to ask the opposing client, under oath, questions about things said in the legal proceedings, especially in affidavits and pleadings. It is done in the presence of a court reporter and a transcript of all questions and answers can be prepared.
Divorce: The termination of the legal relationship of marriage between a husband and wife.
Domestic Violence ("Assault"): The intent by one spouse to intimidate the other spouse, either by threat or by use of physical force on the other person or property. The purpose of the assault is to control her behavior by the inducement of fear.
Fees and Disbursements: The bill. This is a statement you will receive monthly, periodically or in one lump sum at the end of the proceedings. The fee is for the lawyer's time, which is calculated by multiplying the hourly rate by the number of hours worked on your file. Disbursements are out-of-pocket expenses.
Final Order: An order that is not interim. Interim orders are effective until the end of the trial. The final order is intended to last indefinitely or until changed by the court.
Garnishee: A legal proceeding which allows for the seizure of money owing to a person who has not paid a court-ordered debt. A court may order the debtor's bank, employer, or anyone else who may owe money to the debtor, to pay the money into court to help pay the debt.
Interim Orders: There may be a considerable period of time between the initial filing of a divorce application and the date on which a court is able to grant divorce and related support, custody or access orders. On request, a court can make a temporary order for the interim period to stabilize custody or access arrangements or to provide financial support for a spouse or a child.
Joint Custody: A mother and father can continue to share responsibility for making major decisions which affect their children, regardless of which parent the children actually live with on the day-to-day basis. Such arrangements require a commitment on the part of both former spouses to co-operate for the benefit of the children. Joint custody does not eliminate the obligation of both parents to provide financial support for the children.
Judgement: The final decision by the court on any issues put to it during the trial. The formal piece of paper that describes who has been successful or not and on which issues.
Litigation: Resolving a dispute by going to court.
Marriage Breakdown: The sole ground for legally ending a marriage under the terms of the Divorce Act, 1985. Marriage breakdown can be established in three ways: through evidence that one spouse committed adultery; physical or mental cruelty; or that the spouses intentionally lived separate and apart for at least one year.
Marriage Contract: An agreement between a husband and wife outlining the spouses' respective responsibilities and obligations. Some contracts also include agreements as to how property and ongoing obligations will be shared if the marriage breaks down.
Matrimonial Home: Where the family or legally married couple have lived. Common-law spouses never have them (as recognized in law) because they have no statutory property rights. It is possible to have more than one at a time.
Mediation: Using a trained family law mediator to help resolve differences and reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The neutral mediator can help the parties retain focus on the problems to be solved and possible solutions, rather than on areas of personal disagreement.
Minutes of Settlement: A method of settling a case by writing out and having the parties sign an acknowledgment of how they want their problem resolved.
Motion: A request to the court for a particular order pending trial, such as interim custody or support. Filed with an affidavit.
Order: The court's decision on a matter that it was asked to resolve. See Motion and Affidavit.
Parties: The husband and wife, or anybody else who is named in the case before the court and asking for an order of any kind.
Pension: A fixed sum paid regularly to a person or surviving dependant following his or her retirement. There are both public (Canada Pension Plan) and private (from one's own employer) pensions. Some provinces consider a pension that is not yet being paid at the time of marriage breakdown to be property that must be divided.
Pleadings: The typewritten description of each person's claims in a family law matter, which must be prepared in accordance with the province's Rules of Practice.
Procedure: The technical rules that the lawyers must follow to get a case through the civil justice system. They are contained in the provinces Rules of Court.
Retraining Order: An order that prohibits contact between two spouses and in some cases their children. It can be a blanket prohibition or it can provide for specific contact at specific times and under specific circumstances.
Retainer: The contract by which you hire a lawyer to take your case. It can also mean the sum of money you give the lawyer to be applied to fees and disbursements.
Separate: To stop living together as man and wife, possibly under the same roof but usually not. Done with the intention not to live together again.
Separation Agreement: A contract signed by the parties to settle their differences. It can deal with property, custody, access, support and any other matter. A form of domestic contract.
Shared Parenting: Another term used instead of custody and access. It describes a sharing of the decision making that usually is given solely to the custodial parent.
Solicitor/Client Privilege: The keeping secret of everything you tell your lawyer.
Spousal Support: An order that one spouse pay the other a sum of money either in a lump sum or periodically for a set period of time or indefinitely.
Spouse: The person you married.

Statement of Claim for Divorce and Division of Matrimonial Property: the formal document by which one person ask the Court to dissolve his or her marriage to another, for corollary relief and for a division of all the property owned by both.
Statute: A law passed by the legislature of a province or the federal parliament (eg. The Divorce Act, 1985)
Uncontested Divorce: If neither the husband nor the wife disputes the ground for divorce, and if they are able to reach an agreement regarding child care and financial arrangements, it may be possible to ask a judge to grant a divorce without a lengthy court hearing. In some provinces and territories, it may be possible to get a divorce without having to actually appear in court at all.
Variation: If the circumstances which justified making a particular support, custody or access order change, a person affected by the order may be able to ask a judge to alter the order to make it fit the new circumstances.
  Taken from: "Surviving Divorce: The Everyday Guide to Canadian Family Law" by Michael G. Cochrane, LL.B c. 1991 Prentice Hall Inc.
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