Difference between revisions of "Terminology"

;damages:An award of money payable by one party to the other, usually as compensation for loss or harm suffered as a result of the other party’s actions or failures to act. In family law, damages are usually awarded to one party in compensation for breach of contract or spousal abuse.

;debt:A sum of money or an obligation owed by one person to another. A "debtor" is a person responsible for paying a debt/ a "creditor" is the person to whom the debt is owed. See "Arrears."

;decision:In law, a judge’s conclusion after hearing argument and considering the evidence presented at a trial or an application/ a judgment/ the judge's reasons. A judge’s decision will include both his or her conclusions about the relief claimed as well as his or her findings of fact and conclusions of law. A written decision is called the judge’s Reasons for Judgment/ an oral decision is called a Declaratory Judgment. See “Common Law,” "Conclusions of Law" and “Findings of Fact.”

;declaration:In law, a pronouncement of the court about a fact or a state of affairs. This should not be confused with an order, which is a mandatory direction of the court requiring a party to do or not do something. See "Order."

;deem:To make an assumption that one thing follows logically from another/ a presumption of a fact based on other facts. Sometimes, a presumption of a fact required by law.

;de facto:A Latin phrase meaning “in fact.”

;default:In law, failing to do something which is either optional or mandatory, such as failing to respond to an application or to a claim within the time limits set out in the Supreme Court Family Rules. See “Default Judgment.”

;default judgment:A judgment obtained by a Claimant following the Respondent's failure to reply the Claimant's claim within the proper time from service. In the Supreme Court, a Respondent who has been properly served with a Notice of Family Claim has 30 days to file a Response to Family Claim. Once those 30 days have elapsed without a Response to Family Claim being served on the Claimant, the Claimant may apply to the court for a judgment in default. This is the basis for divorce orders made under the desk order divorce process. See also “Desk Order Divorce” and “Response to Family Claim.”

;defence:A reply, rebuttal or answer to an action or application. A Respondent's defence may attack a Claimant's claim on the truth of the facts set out by the Claimant, the law applicable to the case, or both.

;de minimus; non curat lex:A Latin maxim meaning “the law does not concern itself with trifles,” also known by its short form, de minimus. This maxim stands for the idea that some claims or arguments, while perhaps legitimate, are too small or negligible to be dealt with by the court.

;denial:Defending a claim by denying the truth of a fact supporting the claim/ a rejection of the truth of facts alleged.

;de novo:A Latin phrase meaning “anew/” renewed, from the beginning. An application or trial heard de novo is heard for a second time without giving weight to the result of the first hearing. All of the evidence is presented again, together with evidence of events between the first and second hearing, and the arguments are made afresh.

;desertion:The abandoment of one spouse by the other/ the continued absence of one spouse from cohabitation with the other/ a prolonged separation between spouses. This is an old ground of divorce which has been replaced in the modern Divorce Act with simple separation for a period of at least one year. See “Divorce, Grounds of” and “Separation.”

;desk order divorce:A process in which a divorce, with or without other relief (such as relief relating to spousal support or the care and control of the children), is obtained following the failure of the Respondent to file a Response to Family Claim. A desk order divorce does not require an oral hearing and is the cheapest way to obtain a divorce order. See also “Corollary Relief” and “Divorce.”

;disability:In law, a legal incapacity to do certain things, like enter into a contract or bring a law suit. Legal disabilities include insanity and being under the age of majority.

;discovery; disclosure:An element of the litigation process in which each party advises the other of the documents in his or her possession which bear on the issues in the action, and the exchange of those documents before trial. This process is regulated by the Supreme Court Family Rules and gives each party an ongoing obligation to continue to advise the other of new documents coming into their possession or control. The purpose of this exchange is to encourage the settlement of litigation and to prevent trial by ambush, springing new evidence on the other party at trial. Discovery means the formal examination of a party under oath, outside court and in the absence of a judge, about the matters at issue. See "Examination for Discovery."

;dismiss:In law, a judge’s decision to not to grant a claim sought, or to dismiss an action with or without trial. An application which is dismissed has been rejected by the judge. See also “Application.”

;dissent:Disagreement. Also, the decision of a judge of the Court of Appeal who disagrees with the decision reached by the other judges who heard the same appeal. See “Appeal” and “Court of Appeal.”

;divorce:The legal termination of a valid marriage by an order of the court/ the ending of a marital relationship and the conjugal obligations of each spouse to the other. See “Marriage” and “Validity of Marriage.”

;domicile:The place where one has one’s permanent home, where one lives most of the time/ sometimes the place where one intends to have a permanent home. A party's domicile may have an impact on the jurisdiction of the court to hear an action or deal with certain claims made in an action. See “Jurisdiction” and “Residence.”

;donor:A person giving something as a gift, freely and without expectation of payment in return.

;dower:A common law entitlement of a wife to a portion on her husband’s estate on his death. This common law right has been extinguished and is replaced by certain provisions of the Estate Administration Act and the Wills Variation Act, both of which grant a spouse certain rights on the death of the other. See the section "Legislation."

;dowry:In some cultures, the property and/or chattels brought into the marriage by the wife, or, the property given to a wife by her husband in return for her marriage to him. There is no legal entitlement to dowry in Canada, and claims for dowry will not normally be enforceable. See "Chattels" and "Real Property."

;draft:A non-final version of a document/ an order prepared following judgment submitted to the court for its approval/ to prepare or "draw" a legal document.

;duress:Forcing someone to do something by psychological or emotional pressure/ a defence to the enforcement of a contract. If, for example, a separation agreement was entered into under duress, that may be a ground to dispute or set aside that agreement.

;duty:In law, a legal obligation to do or not do something, whether under the common law or pursuant to legislation. See "Act" and "Common Law.”