Difference between revisions of "Terminology"

;abduction:The taking of a person by force or fraud. In family law, also the taking of a child contrary to a court order or without the permission of a guardian. In certain circumstances, this may be a criminal offence.

;access:Under the ''Divorce Act'', the schedule of a parent's time with his or her children under an order or agreement. Access usually refers to the schedule of the parent with the least time with the child. See "custody."

;action:A court proceeding in which one party sues another for a specific remedy or relief, also called a "lawsuit" or a "case." An action for divorce, for example, is a court proceeding in which the claimant sues the respondent for the relief of a divorce order.

;address for service:The address at which a party to a court proceeding agrees to accept delivery of legal documents. An address for service must be a proper street address within British Columbia; additional addresses for service may include postal addresses, fax numbers, and email addresses.

;adjournment:The suspension of a hearing or trial, usually when the hearing or trial cannot proceed on the date scheduled or because it cannot complete within the time scheduled.

;adoption:In family law, the act or process of taking another person's natural child as one's own. The child becomes the adopting parent's legal child as if the child were the adopting parent's natural child, while the natural parent loses all rights and obligations with respect to the child. See "natural parent."

;adoptive parent:A person who has formally assumed the status of parent to a child who is not his or her biological offspring. See "adoption" and "natural parent."

;advance:In family law, this usually refers to one party obtaining a share of the family property before the property has been finally divided by court order or the parties' agreement.

;Advisory Guidelines:Short for the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines, an academic paper released by the Department of Justice that describes a variety of mathematical formulas that can be applied to determine how much spousal support should be paid and how long spousal support should be paid for, once a spouse is found to be entitled to receive support. The Advisory Guidelines is not a law.

;affidavit:A legal document in which a person provides evidence of certain facts and events in writing, as if the evidence was given orally in court. Affidavits must be notarized by a lawyer or notary public who takes the oath or affirmation of the person making the affidavit to confirm the truth of the affidavit. Affidavits are used as evidence, just as if the deponent, the person making the affidavit, had made the statements as a witness. See "deponent" and "witness."

;affidavit of service:A legal document required by the rules of court in which a person who has personally served someone describes the circumstances in which the person was served. This may be essential to prove personal service, particularly if the serving party intends to seek a default judgment, as is usually the case in a desk order divorce. See "default judgment" and "personal service."

;alternative dispute resolution:A phrase referring to a family of processes intended to resolve disputes outside of the court system, including arbitration, mediation, negotiation, and collaborative settlement processes. In family law, the purpose of alternative dispute resolution is to offer a less adversarial and less expensive way to resolve a dispute than having to go to court and have a judge resolve things.

;amend:To change or alter a pleading or document that has already been filed in court or given to the other party. The resulting document is a separate document from the original and is called, for example, the "amended Notice of Family Claim" or the "amended separation agreement."

;annulment:A declaration by a judge that a marriage is invalid. The effect of such a declaration is to make it as if the marriage never occurred. See "ab initio," "declaration" and "marriage, validity of."

;answer:A response to an allegation of fact or to a claim. Usually refers to documents which reply to the allegations or claims made by the other party, such as a "Response to Family Claim" or a "Reply."

;appellant:The party who brings an appeal of a lower court's decision. See also "appeal" and "respondent."

;application:A request to the court that it make an order for a specific remedy or relief usually on an interim or temporary basis, also called a "chambers application" or a "motion." See also "interim application" and "relief."

;Application to Obtain an Order:A legal document required by the Provincial Court Family Rules to bring a court proceeding, which sets out the relief sought by the applicant against the person named as respondent. See "action," "applicant," "pleadings," "relief," and "respondent."

;apportion:In family law, to divide equally, usually referring to the division of family property between spouses. See also "reapportion."

;appraisal:A professional estimate of the worth of an asset. In family law, this is sometimes required for the court to fix the value of property such as an art collection or a house.

;arbitration: A dispute resolution process in which an arbitrator hears the evidence and arguments presented by the parties to a legal dispute and makes an award which resolves the dispute and which is binding on the parties. See "alternative dispute resolution" and "family law arbitrator."

;arrears:Child support or spousal support that is owing because of an order or agreement but is unpaid.

;assent:Agreement, approval.