Glossary
A disposition order is a final order from a judge. For example, you need a disposition order before an enforcement officer can seize and sell someone’s personal property.
In Family Law
A dispute resolution officer (DRO) is a senior lawyer who is trained to help people resolve their issues.
Diversion is a word people use to talk about taking criminal charges out of the court and dealing with them in a more informal way. That means dealing with your charges without having a trial or pleading guilty. You can do things like attend a program, take a course, or complete other tasks away from the court. In the youth criminal justice system this is called Extrajudicial Measures (EJM), Extrajudicial Sanctions (EJS), or informal diversion.
In Family Law
To divide property is the process of dividing a married couple’s assets and debts. This usually happens after they separate or divorce.
Married couples usually share the value of their property. This means that the partner who has more property usually pays money to the partner who has less property. Usually, the property itself is not physically divided.
This is not true for people in a common-law relationship. They usually don’t have to share the value of their property if they separate.
In Family Law
A divorce is a court order that ends a marriage legally. Sometimes, you don’t need to go to court, but at least one partner needs to fill out court paperwork to get the divorce order.
In Family Law
A divorce order is an order from the court that legally ends a marriage.
In Criminal Law
Domestic assault happens when someone applies force to an intimate partner or ex-partner or threatens to do this This can include pushing, punching, kicking, or trying to do any of those things.
In Family Law
A domestic contract is a written document that you and your partner can make that says how you will deal with your issues while you are together or at the end of your relationship. For example, you can say how much spousal support one partner will pay the other if they separate. A domestic contract might be called something else, including:
- a cohabitation agreement if it was made before or while you were living together, and you and your partner aren’t married
- a marriage contract if it was made before you were married and you were planning to marry at the time, or after you got married
- a separation agreement if it was made after you’ve separated from your partner
In Criminal Law
These are defence lawyers who work at criminal courthouses to help people who don’t have their own lawyers. They are paid for by Legal Aid Ontario. Duty counsel help people at bail hearings, in set date court, or sometimes at guilty pleas. They can offer basic legal advice. In some areas duty counsel may assist in other proceedings.
