Absent parent
Access
Acknowledgement of service
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
Adultery
Affidavit
Ancillary relief
Answer
Barrister
Calderbank letter
Charge on Property
Child abduction
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (CAFCASS)
Civil partnership
Clean break
Cohabitation
Collaborative law
Consent order
Contact
Co-respondent
Counsel
Cross petition
Custody
Decree Absolute
Decree Nisi
Directions for trial
Disclosure
District Judge
Equity
Family Hearing Centre
Form E
Hearing in Chambers
Injunction
Joint tenancy
Judicial separation
Lump sum
Maintenance
Maintenance pending suit
Matrimonial home
Mediation
Minutes of order
Non-molestation Order
Occupation Order
Parental responsibility
Parent with care
Pension sharing
Periodical payments
Petition
Petitioner
Prayer
Premarital agreement
Prohibited steps order
Property adjustment order
Relevant child
Reserved costs
Residence order
Respondent
Separation agreement
Service
Severing the joint tenancy
Special procedure
Specific issue order
Spouse
Statement of arrangements for children
Tenancy in common
Undefended divorce
Without prejudice
Absent Parent
A parent not living in the same household as a qualifying child as defined by the Child Support Act 1991.
Access
This is the old term for Contact. See Contact.
Acknowledgement of Service
The document which is sent by the court to the Respondent at the same time as the divorce petition and which the Respondent is requested to complete and return to the court showing what, if any, issues are in dispute.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
Refers to all forms of settlement other than a court based resolution; includes mediation, directive mediation, lawyers’ negotiation, collaborative law and arbitration.
Adultery
Sexual intercourse that takes place while a person is married, at any time before a Decree Absolute, with someone of the opposite sex who is not that persons husband or wife.
Affidavit
A formal written statement which contains evidence given on oath or by affirmation. If the person making the affidavit wishes to refer to any document, a copy of such a document should be attached ('exhibited') to the affidavit.
Ancillary relief
A general term for the various financial orders that a court can make in divorce or judicial separation proceedings.
Answer
A formal defence to a divorce petition.
Barrister
A lawyer who has been called to the Bar and who is qualified to plead in the Higher courts.
Calderbank letter
A ‘without prejudice’ letter making an offer of settlement prior to the case going to hearing. If the offer is rejected by the other party and the court awards the same or less then there is the risk of having to pay the other party’s costs from the date the offer was made as well as one’s own.
Charge on Property
A charge on a property is like an additional mortgage. It gives the holder of the charge security as he/she is entitled to be paid out of the proceeds of the eventual sale of the charged property.
Child Abduction
The illegal removal of a child from its home, in particular removal from one country to another. It may be illegal even if it is by the parent who lives with the child, if a person with the right to help make decisions about the child, such as the other parent, has not given their permission.
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (CAFCASS)
CAFCASS officers can provide dispute resolution between parents and are often used to provide the court with a report outlining the options available when considering any order affecting a child, such as residence or contact.
Civil Partnership
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into operation on 5 December 2005 and enables a same-sex couple to register as civil partners of each other. It provides civil partners with an equality of treatment with married couples in a wide range of legal matters.
Clean break
A one-off order that deals with all the financial issues between a husband and wife. There can be no subsequent claim for any other financial provision even if circumstances change.
Cohabitation
Living together when unmarried.
Collaborative Law
A new approach built on mutual problem-solving where both parties and their lawyers pledge to work together to negotiate an agreement without going to court.
Consent order
An order made by a court in the terms agreed by both husband and wife.
Contact (previously known as Access)
The arrangement for a child or children to visit or be visited by the parent who no longer lives with them. Contact can also refer to indirect contact such as phone calls and letters.
Co-respondent
When the respondent puts forward different reasons for the breakdown of the marriage from the petitioner’s, and seeks a divorce on those facts.
Counsel
Another name for a Barrister.
Cross petition
This is when the Respondent argues different grounds for the divorce from those of the Petitioner.
Custody
The right formerly granted by a court for one parent (or both) to make major decisions for a child, such as education. Custody orders predate the Children Act and are no longer made.
Decree Absolute
The order made by the court dissolving the marriage.
Decree Nisi
Document issued once the court is satisfied that the grounds of divorce are established, allowing the petitioner to apply to have the decree made absolute after a further six weeks and one day. It does not end the marriage.
Directions for trial
The stage of divorce proceedings when the district judge considers the petition and affidavit in support, and requests further information if required, before giving his certificate for a decree nisi to be granted. Proceedings for ancillary relief (i.e. financial provisions) and applications in relation to the children also have a directions for trial stage, when the district judge considers what further evidence will be required and makes orders accordingly.
Disclosure
The process of providing full and frank financial details about a person’s capital, income, assets and liabilities. This is either done voluntarily, or pursuant to a court order.
District Judge
A County Court judge responsible for dealing with most aspects of divorce including the financial matters.
Equity
The net value of a property after all mortgages or other charges are paid off.
Family Hearing Centre
A County Court with the power to deal with the administrative processes of divorce proceedings and any contested applications under the Children Act.
Form E
A sworn financial statement which contains details about your capital, income, assets and liabilities. They can either be exchanged voluntarily or as part of Ancillary Relief proceedings.
Hearing in Chambers
This term is when the District Judge or Judge considers an application in private. This is less formal than open court.
Injunction
Order by the court telling someone what he or she must do or must refrain from doing; the penalty for disobedience can be imprisonment.
Joint tenancy
A form of shared ownership of a home or other property. Where two or more people own a property as joint tenants and one owner dies survivor(s) automatically take ownership of the deceased’s share.
Judicial separation
An order made by a divorce county court which stops the partners of a marriage having to live together in the same way as a divorce. It is quite rare to get a judicial separation, but can be used by couples who have a moral or religious objection to divorce. The order does not end the marriage so neither partner is free to marry again (or enter into a civil partnership).
Lump sum
A payment of a capital amount of money, usually as part of a financial settlement.
Maintenance
Money one spouse pays on a regular basis to the other for ongoing financial support (either just for the spouse or for the benefit of the children of the family).
Maintenance pending suit
If the divorce may take some time to resolve, temporary maintenance can be requested pending the outcome of the divorce proceedings.
Matrimonial home
The property where a married couple lives or last lived together as Husband and Wife.
Mediation
A process in which an impartial third person assists those involved in a family breakdown to reach their own agreed and informed decisions about some or all of the issues relating to or arising from the separation, divorce, children, finance or property.
Minutes of order
Draft terms of agreement placed before the court with a request that a consent order be made in the same terms.
Non-molestation order
An order to prohibit one person using or threatening violence, intimidating, harassing or pestering another.
Occupation order
An order which regulates occupation rights to the matrimonial home. A spouse can be excluded from the home or from a certain part of it.
Parental responsibility
The rights and responsibilities that mothers and married fathers automatically have to their children. Non-married fathers can acquire Parental Responsibility through marriage to the child's mother, by entering into a Parental Responsibility agreement with the child’s mother, by being named as the father on the child's birth certificate (where the birth occurs after 1st December 2003) or by applying to the court for a Parental Responsibility Order.
Parent with Care
A term in the Child Support Act 1991 to mean the parent with whom the child has his or her home and who usually provides day to day care for that child.
Pension sharing
The division of a pension fund between two spouses as part of a financial settlement.
Periodical payments
Another term for maintenance which can be paid weekly, monthly or annually.
Petition
The document requesting a divorce or a judicial separation.
Petitioner
The person who initiates the divorce proceedings by filing a divorce petition at court.
Prayer
The part of the Petition, or Answer, which asks the court to make orders in favour of the Petitioner or Respondent, as the case may be.
Premarital Agreement
A Premarital Agreement (also referred to as a Prenuptial Agreement) is a formal written agreement entered into by a couple before marriage. Its purpose is to record the parties' intentions as to the division of assets in the event that the marriage breaks down. The courts are not obliged to enforce such agreements although they now seem to be moving towards acceptance of them.
Prohibited steps order
A court order used to restrict a person’s exercise of parental responsibility, for example removing a child out of the country without permission.
Property adjustment order
An order that one spouse should transfer property to the other (e.g. the matrimonial home or other assets).
Relevant child
A child of the marriage under 16 at the time of the decree nisi or between 16 and 18 if in full-time education or training for a trade, profession or vocation. (A disabled and dependant child can be of any age).
Reserved Costs
When a decision on an amount of costs to be awarded is deferred until a later hearing
Residence order
An order under the Children Act which settles the arrangements about with whom a child will live; residence orders can be split between parents (or others) or shared, e.g. in favour of a parent and step parent.
Respondent
The spouse who receives (and is to respond to) the petition for divorce or judicial separation. This term is also used to refer to a parent responding to an Application under the Children Act.
Separation agreement
A written agreement between a couple who intend to stop living together. It sets out how they wish to sort our financial arrangements, property and arrangements for the children.
Service
The process by which court documents are formally sent to the parties concerned.
Severing the joint tenancy
This is where a property has been held as joint tenants but due to a change in circumstances, for example separation, one or both of the parties now wish to hold the property as tenants in common.
Special procedure
When a divorce is undefended, the decree can be issued without either spouse having to appear at court.
Specific issue order
An order to resolve a particular issue in dispute relating to a child, for example when parents cannot agree about schooling or medical treatment.
Spouse
The person to whom you are married.
Statement of Arrangements for Children
Form to be filed with the divorce petition if there are any children. It sets out the proposed arrangements for the children. If possible, the terms should be agreed by the parents and the form signed by them both.
Tenancy in common
This is the opposite of joint tenancy in that the tenants in common each have a definite share in the property. The parties could own the property in equal shares, or, for example, one party could own one third with the other owning two thirds. This is the most appropriate arrangement where people want to own property on separate pre-determined shares (for example, the parties have made different financial contributions.
Under this form of ownership when one of the owners dies, his/her share of the property will pass on to whosoever is specified in a Will, or if a Will is not made, in accordance with the rules of intestacy.
Undefended divorce
The dissolution of the marriage either by agreement or where there is not defence to the Petition.
Without Prejudice
A phrase used to prevent communications in any negotiations being made known to the court. However, if those negotiations fail to produce agreement Without Prejudice letters, Calderbank offers and the responses to them can subsequently be disclosed to the court in evidence over claims for costs.
