Having given a brief outline of some of the main areas of law, here are some of the common terms that you may encounter.
Acknowledgement of service form
– the form by which the respondent (or co-respondent) acknowledges having received the divorce petition.
Affidavit
– a formal statement sworn on oath to be true by the person making it, usually in support of an application to the court, for example in relation to financial matters.
Ancillary relief
– a general term for the possible financial orders that a court can make.
Answer
– the formal defence to a divorce petition.
Applicable law
– the system by which the courts of one country apply the law of another country with which the couple have a particular connection.
Apostille
– the process by which documents issued in one country have to be authenticated before being validly recognised in another.
Brussels I
– a EU Regulation enabling maintenance orders made in one EU country to be enforced in another by a simple procedure. Brussels I has been replaced by an EU Maintenance Regulation which is not likely to be implemented in England until 2011.
Brussels II
– the predecessor of Brussels IIA which came into force on 1 March 2001.
Brussels IIA
– the EU Regulation which came into force on 1 March 2005 that regulates inter alia jurisdiction for divorce proceedings within the EU (except Denmark). It is sometimes known as Brussels II (Revised) or Brussels II bis. It replaced Brussels II, an earlier EU Regulation which came into force on 1 March 2001.
CAFCASS
- the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (formerly, the Court Welfare Service). A CAFCASS officer is a social worker who assists the court with matters relating to children and may prepare a report in certain types of proceedings. In disputed children proceedings, he or she will usually meet with both parents and the children in order to prepare a report for the court on what is in the child's best interests.
Central Authority
- the government office in a country dealing with other countries on cross-border family law issues including child abduction.
Child Abduction
- the wrongful removal or wrongful retention of a child from his/her place of habitual residence in breach of a parent’s rights of custody.
Clean break
– a financial arrangement where it is agreed or ordered that the husband and wife will make no further claims against each other for capital or maintenance.
Community of property
– a system operating in some jurisdictions under which assets accrued during the marriage up to separation are divided equally.
Conciliation
– the historical term for mediation. See below.
Consent order
– an order made by a court giving effect to the terms agreed between husband and wife.
Contact (formerly access)
– the arrangement by which a child sees the parent, or other individual, with whom he or she does not live.
Co-respondent
– a person with whom the respondent is alleged to have committed adultery. The law no longer requires that person to be named as a co -respondent in the divorce proceedings and a responsible solicitor will try to discourage you from doing so, as it is likely to create greater animosity and delay, and make the process more expensive in the long run.
Decree nisi
– the provisional order indicating that the court is satisfied that the ground for divorce has been established.
Decree absolute
– the final order of the court, which brings the marriage to an end.
District judge
– a county court judge who deals with most of the divorce proceedings and usually with financial matters.
Domicile
– the legal relationship between an individual and a country, usually arising from residence there with the intention of making it his or her permanent home.
Domicile of choice
– a new domicile other than an individual’s domicile of origin acquired by living in a country with the intention of continuing to reside there indefinitely.
Domicile of origin
– a domicile while acquired by child at birth being the domicile of the father of the child as born within a marriage or, if not, the domicile of the mother.
Duxbury calculation
– a formula for working out the lump sum appropriate for a clean break, based on the amount of maintenance payable and the life expectancy of the recipient, etc.
European Convention
– agreement within Europe designed to enable a person who has obtained a decision relating to the custody of a child to have that decision recognised or enforced in any other European state which is a party to the Convention.
Family Proceedings Court
– the name given to the division of the Magistrates' Court that deals with family law matters.
Financial dispute resolution appointment (FDR)
– the second court appointment in ancillary relief proceedings when a judge looks at the offers made on a “without prejudice” basis. Can, in more simple cases, sometimes be combined with the first appointment (below) to save costs and speed progress.
First appointment (or first directions appointment - FDA)
– the first court appointment in financial cases, when a judge considers what information is needed from each party in order to progress the case.
Forum dispute
– a dispute as to which country should deal with a divorce and related issues.
Forum shopping
– taking advice as to which country will offer the most favourable outcome for a divorce and related issues.
Habitual residence
– the country in which the person usually lives on a voluntary basis and for settled purposes.
Hague Convention
– an agreement entered into between certain countries to secure the prompt return of abducted children to the country from which they have been abducted.
Injunction
– an order of the court preventing or requiring action, usually in an emergency.
Judicial separation
– a formal separation sanctioned by the court, which enables the courts to make orders about money and property.
Jurisdiction
– the connection between a party and a country to enable proceedings to be commenced in that country.
Jurisdiction clause
– a clause in an agreement stating in which country the parties would wish any proceedings relating to the marriage to be begun.
Leave to remove
– an application to the court for permission to remove a child permanently from the jurisdiction.
Maintenance pending suit
– temporary maintenance pending finalisation of the divorce.
Matrimonial home
– any property in which a married couple live together, whether or not they own it or rent it.
Mediation
– the process through which trained independent mediators try to help a couple reach agreement about arrangements to be made for children and sometimes finances.
Mid-nup
– a mid-nuptial agreement: see post-nup.
Mirror order
– a court order obtained in a foreign court (for example as to contact/access) reflecting exactly the terms of an English court order obtained for enforcement purposes.
Notary public
– a lawyer who authenticates documents for use abroad and who, in some European countries, may act for both parties, for example, in the preparation of a pre-nup.
Parental responsibility
– where married, both parents of a child have joint parental responsibility for that child before, during and after divorce or separation. This term describes all of the rights, duties and responsibilities which, by law, a parent of a child has in relation to that child.
Periodical payments
– maintenance or alimony.
Petition
– the document in which a divorce or judicial separation is applied for.
Petitioner
– the person who applies for a divorce or judicial separation.
Post-nup
– a post-nuptial agreement defining the terms which are to apply between husband and wife during marriage, on separation/divorce and death often confirming or varying a pre-nup.
Prayer
– the part of the petition that asks the court to make financial orders in favour of the petitioner.
Pre-nup
– a pre-nuptial agreement (also known as a pre-marital agreement or contract) made in contemplation of marriage setting out the terms which are to apply as between husband and wife during the marriage, upon separation/divorce and upon death.
Prohibited steps order
– an order prohibiting specific steps in relation to a child, for example, a change of surname or removal from the jurisdiction.
Property adjustment order
– an order that a husband or wife should transfer property to the other.
REMO
– a government department giving assistance on reciprocal enforcement abroad.
Residence order
– an order dealing with the arrangements regarding with whom a child is to live.
Request for directions
– an application to the court for a decree nisi.
Respondent
– the other spouse, upon whom the divorce or judicial separation proceedings are served.
Separation agreement
– a document setting out the terms agreed, usually before divorce proceedings are commenced.
Service
– the process by which court documents are formally sent to the party to whom they are addressed (usually via their solicitor).
Specific issue order
– an order determining a specific issue relating to a child; for example, an educational dispute or an issue over medical treatment.
Statement of arrangements
– the form that has to be sent to the court with the petition if there are children involved, which sets out the arrangements proposed for those children when the divorce takes place. This should be agreed by the husband and wife in advance and signed by both of them if agreed.
Stay
– to place a stop or a halt on court proceedings.
Transmitting agency
– the government office in each country which facilitates service of documents between countries. In England, it is the Foreign Process Section, Room E10, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL (tel: +44 (0)20 7947 6327; fax: +44 (0)20 7947 6975).