Glossary - Family Law
In Family Law
A divorce order is an order from the court that legally ends a marriage.
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 Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law
Duty counsel are private lawyers or Legal Aid Ontario staff lawyers who give legal help right away to people who appear in court that day without a lawyer if their income is low enough. They give free legal advice and can help negotiate and settle issues, but they can’t take on a whole case or represent a person at trial.
In Family Law
An endorsement is the written directions a judge gives you and your partner that says what you must do or not do. It is usually handwritten and put in your court file.
To make an endorsement into a court order, you or your partner prepare a document, called a draft order, that you both sign. You must do this if you want an order that is enforceable. This means the court can order you or your partner to do what the court order says. Sometimes the court clerk prepares the draft order.
In Family Law, Wills and Powers of Attorney
An equalization payment is money one married partner can sometimes get from the other partner after they separate or the other partner dies. Its purpose is to share the amount that the couple’s property increased in value while they were married.
Common-law partners usually don’t have a right to an equalization payment.
In Family Law
An ex parte motion, sometimes called an emergency motion, is when you bring an urgent motion without notice to your partner. This means you don’t have to serve your documents on your partner before the judge hears the motion and makes a decision. The reason for not requiring service may be because of immediate safety issues or because the delay would likely lead to something serious happening. You can only bring this type of motion in limited situations. For example, if you feel there is an immediate risk that your partner will seriously harm you or your children, or leave the province or country with your children and not bring them back.
In Family Law
Exclusive possession is a court order that says only one partner can stay in, or return to, the home and the other partner isn’t allowed on the property. If there are children, usually the order also includes that the children are allowed on the property. The order is usually temporary. The court doesn’t decide who owns the home or who rented it when deciding which partner can stay in it.
In Child abuse and neglect, Family Law
A child is in extended society care when they are in the care and custody of the Children’s Aid Society and they have to stay in their care until one of the following happens:
- the court changes the order
- the child turns 18
- the child gets married
- the child is adopted
In Family Law
A family arbitration award is the decision that an arbitrator makes after hearing from both partners about their family law issues.
An arbitrator has to follow certain rules. For example, they have to keep a record of any notes they made during the arbitration. If these rules are followed, an arbitrator’s award is enforceable. This means that the court can make a court order based on the family arbitration award, and that both partners must follow the order.
