Glossary

A

• Abuse: Abuse is when someone causes us harm or distress. It can take many forms, ranging from disrespect to causing someone physical or mental pain.

• Action: A lawsuit or a legal proceeding in a civil case.

• Action Number: A file number assigned to an action, also referred to as a Court file number.

• Access: A term previously used in Canada’s Divorce Act to describe the time a divorced parent without custody or a non-parent had with a child. The correct terms are “parenting time” (if the person is the child’s parent) or “contact” (if the person is not the child’s guardian). 

• Adjourn: A suspension or postponement of a court appearance, either to a specific date or indefinitely.

• Adult Interdependent Partnership: This relationship exists where two people share one another’s lives, are emotionally committed to one another and share their home and finances.

• Adoption: The legal process whereby a biological parent’s legal rights and obligations to a child are terminated and given to the adoptive parties.

• Adult Interdependent Relations Act, 2002: Alberta legislation which defines the term Adult Independent partner, to be a person who has lived with another person in a relationship of interdependence:
  a. for a continuous period of three years, or
  b. of some permanence, if there is a child born to the relationship, or
  c. by adoption, or if there is an adult interdependent partner agreement.

• Adultery: When a married person has a romantic or sexual relationship with someone other than their spouse.

• Affidavit: A written statement of fact that is sworn or affirmed to be true before a Commissioner for Oaths, Justice of the Peace or Notary Public.

• Affirm: To promise something is true and binding on your conscience. It is a non-religious option. For example, to affirm an affidavit means to promise its contents are true.

• Alimony: A commonly used term for payments from one spouse to another after a separation or divorce. In Canada, the correct term is “spousal support”. 

• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): Options for resolving disputes without litigation and outside of the Adversarial System. Some of the alternative dispute resolution methods are Judicial Dispute Resolution, mediation, collaborative law, arbitration and negotiation.

• Applicant: The person who applies for a court order.

• Application: A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues.

• Assets: Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments.

• Arbitration: A binding process which provides an alternative to having a matter decided by a Court, in which parties argue their case before an arbitrator.

• Arrears: Unpaid sums of money for child or spousal support.

​B

• Bankrupt: A legal process that frees an individual or business from its obligations to pay some or all of their debts, with certain conditions.

• Beneficiary: A person who receives income or property from a trust. An example of a trust is a deceased person’s estate.

• Best Interests Test: The Canadian Courts must focus on the question "What is in the best interest of the child?" rather than what may be in the best interests of either parent in the dispute. 

• Business owner: A person who is self-employed, is a partner in a partnership, or owns 1% or more of a corporation.
   

C

• Capacity: The ability to understand information for making a decision and the ability to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of making or not making the decision. Legal capacity is black or white – either a person is capable or is not capable.

• Certificate of Divorce: A document which certifies parties are finally divorced. It may be obtained from the Clerk of the Court 30 days after a Divorce Judgment is granted. 

• Certificate of Judgment/Certificate of Default Judgment: A certificate stating the decision of the Court. It states who owes what money to whom.

• Certificate of Lis Pendens: A certificate a person can register at the land titles office to announce there is a lawsuit pending against the owner of the property. It can prevent the owner from selling the property during the lawsuit, which could end with the property going to someone else or being used to pay a judgment.

• Certificate of Title: A document from the Alberta Land Titles Office that says who the owners of a property are and others who have an interest in the property, such as a mortgage holder.

• Chambers: Courtrooms that are open to the public with many people present where a justice can hear many cases and grant court orders. The people in a case have 20 minutes or less to speak with the justice and ask for a court order.

• Child: The legal definition of a “child” is different for issues of child support than for issues of custody and access. For determining child support, an individual will still be considered a “child” if he or she is under 18 years of age, or is over 18 and remains dependent on his or her parents because of illness, disability or other reasons (which usually includes full time post-secondary attendance.) For custody and access, an individual will no longer be considered a “child” if he or she is more than 18 years of age.

• Child Support: Tax free payments made by one parent to the other for the support of a child after the parents have separated or divorced. Child support is generally determined by reference to the payor parent’s income. The law governing the calculation of the amount of child support is found in the Federal Child Support Guidelines. 

• Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, 2000: Provincial legislation which sets forth the law regarding the guardianship, custody and access to children in need of protection.

• Civil enforcement agency: An agency with permission from the Government of Alberta to seize (take away) and sell a person’s property to pay someone they owe money to.

• Civil laws: The laws that apply to disputes between individuals or businesses, such as about contracts, work, debts and more.

• Clerk of the Court: An administrative officer of the Court who is assigned certain duties including filing of documents and keeping records of Court proceedings.Cohabitation: When a couple co-habits (lives) together.

• Cohabitation Agreement: A written contract signed by a couple who are living together, who plan to live together or who plan to marry. It usually lists the assets and debts of the parties and how they would like to divide their assets if the relationship breaks down. It may include agreements obliging or waiving future financial support. In order to meet the requirements under the Matrimonial Property Act, it must be executed with legal counsel and each party must receive independent legal advice about its contents.

• Commissioner for Oaths: A person appointed by the Government of Alberta to administer oaths, certify a document is a true copy of another and witness the signing of legal documents to be used in Alberta only. For example, a person can swear/affirm an affidavit before a Commissioner for Oaths that will be used in Alberta.

• Common law: A term often used to describe an unmarried couple that lives together, with or without children. The correct term in Alberta is “adult interdependent relationship”. Learn more on the What is your marital status page.

• Consummate the marriage: To have sexual intercourse for the first time after getting married.

• Corollary relief: A term used in divorce proceedings to describe claims for child support, spousal support, parenting time and decision-making responsibility. The court will not grant a divorce until the parents have dealt with these issues.

• Costs: Money the more successful party in a court proceeding can ask the justice to order the less successful party to pay. Costs reimburse the more successful party for having to go through the court process to get a resolution.

• Counterclaim: A claim made in response to a Civil Claim. Typically it is an amount claimed by a Defendant against a Plaintiff.Court reporter: A person who writes down everything that is said during a legal process, like a questioning, court appearance or trial. They use a special machine to record spoken works and create a written transcript that justices, lawyers and others in the case can use. They can also administer oaths to witnesses.

• Court Order: A document which lists matters ordered by a judge, is signed by a judge, filed at court and served to both parties or their counsel. 

• Creditor: An individual or business owed money by a debtor.

• Cross-application: The respondent’s own application to court in response to the plaintiff’s application.

• Cross-examination: A process in which a party who has sworn an Affidavit or otherwise provided sworn evidence may be placed under oath and asked questions by the opposing party’s counsel. A cross-examination may occur in a Courtroom during a trial or if a party has sworn an affidavit, opposing counsel may cross-examine in their office. If a party is cross-examined on their affidavit, a transcript of a cross-examination must be filed as evidence in the parties’ litigation.

• Cruelty: The intentional and malicious infliction of physical and/or mental suffering by one spouse upon another spouse. Cruelty is a ground upon which a divorce may be obtained. Conduct between spouses is generally of little or no relevance to other issues in family law (such as spousal support or the division of property), it may be relevant to custody and access if it there has also been cruelty to children.

• Custody: A term previously used in Canada’s Divorce Act to describe a parent’s time with and decision-making authority for a child. The correct terms are now “parenting time” and “decision-making responsibility”. 
   

D

• Damages: A sum of money claimed for a loss or an injury to a person or to property.

• Debtor: An individual or business that owes money to a creditor.

• Debts: Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans.

• Declaration of irreconcilability: A declaration from the court that says spouses or adult interdependent partners have no prospect of reconciling with each other. It is one way to prove a relationship is over.

• Declaration of parentage: To be declared a parent a person must apply to the Court of King's Bench. When children are born to parents who are married at the date of birth, the parents are presumed to be parents and do not need to make this application. The Family Law Act lists the circumstances in which unmarried fathers will be presumed to be parents. Parties who do not meet the presumptions of parentage must be declared to be parents in order for a Court to grant orders for such parents to have custody or access to their children or to require a parent to pay child support. A declaration of parentage is also required for parties who stand in loco parentis to a child to be granted custody or access rights, or to be required to pay child support.

• Default: Failing to do something that is required, such as appear in Court or file a Dispute Note or other required steps.

• Defendant: The person who responds to the plaintiff’s Statement of Claim.

• Demand of Notice: A document that may be filed by a Defendant to a divorce. It advises the court that the Defendant is aware of the divorce, would like to receive copies of all documents filed in the divorce, but will not be disputing any of the relief sought in the Statement of Claim.

• Dependent children: Children under the age of 18 years or children 18 years or older who are not financially independent. An adult child may not be financially independent because they are studying full-time or have injuries, disabilities or medical conditions.

• Desk application: Applying for a court order by submitting your documents at the courthouse for a justice to review on their own. You do not speak to the justice. The court contacts you once the justice grants your order, if they need more information or if the justice refuses to grant your order.

• Disbursements: Expenses incurred by a party in a lawsuit, in addition to legal fees. These may include minor sums such as the cost of filing a document or courier charges, up to more significant amounts for other services used to support the litigation, such as expert witness fees, appraisals or the cost associated with completing a custody assessment.

• Disclosure order: A court order that orders one person to share their financial information with the other person for the purposes of calculating support or dividing property, or both.

• Discovery: A process in which a party to litigation is questioned about their case under oath. A transcript of the questions and answers is prepared. In contrast to a cross examination on affidavit, the transcript from a discovery is not necessarily filed with the court. The purpose of a discovery is to enable opposing counsel to obtain evidence and admissions, to request further information or documents and to assess the credibility of witnesses in preparation for trial.

• Dissolution of marriage: Synonymous with "Divorce".

• Division of Property: The Matrimonial Property Act of Alberta sets out the laws governing the division of property following the breakdown of a marriage, should the parties be unable to agree upon a division. It also allows parties to divide their property by a Divorce and Property Contract. There is no comprehensive legislation in Alberta setting forth the laws governing the division of property from a common law relationship, instead, a body of law has developed in this area through a series of judgments from Alberta Courts and the Supreme Court of Canada.

• Divorce: The termination of the legal relationship of marriage.

• Divorce Act, 1985: Federal legislation which sets forth the terms under which a Divorce and Corollary Relief may be granted.

• Divorce and property contract: A written contract which sets forth terms parties have agreed upon in relation to the division of property, and Corollary Relief. To meet the criteria set forth in the Matrimonial Property Act for dividing property on a final basis, a Divorce and Property Contract must be in writing and each party must have Independent Legal Advice. The completion of a Divorce and Property Contract does not mean that the parties will automatically be divorced. For a Divorce to be final, the parties must obtain a Divorce Judgment.

• Divorce Judgment: A court order which terminates a marriage. A Divorce Judgment must be obtained prior to obtaining a Certificate of Divorce.

• Documents / Records: Material used to support your case, including any contracts, cheques, invoices, letters receipts, repair estimates, photographs or videos, printouts of any email or other electronic messages, copies or transcripts of any voice mail messages, etc.

• Domestic Violence: Violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse.

• Dower Rights: The Dower Act enables a spouse to occupy a matrimonial home for the duration of their life, in the event of the death of a spouse or divorce. These rights have largely become eclipsed by the Matrimonial Property Act. In practical terms, a married spouse must agree to waive these rights to enable their spouse to sell or borrow money against the matrimonial home.
   

E

• Enforcement: The legal process to collect money based on a Judgment from the Court.

• Enforcement Creditor: A party who is owed money under a Judgment

• Enforcement Debtor: A party who owes money under a Judgment

• Equity: The value of an asset minus any money owing on it. For example, a person’s equity in their house is the value of the house less the mortgage amount they still owe.

• Evidence: Information presented to a Judge to prove or disprove facts and allegations in a case. 

• Ex parte: A court appearance where the applicant does not have to serve court documents or give notice about the court date beforehand to the respondent.

• Examination of Witness: The questioning of a witness under oath or affirmation about what they know about the action.

• Exclusive possession of the matrimonial home: An interim order allowing one party to live in the matrimonial home, until further order of the court. This does not impact ownership of the matrimonial home or the division of property.

• Exhibit: A document you refer to in and attach to your affidavit that helps you prove the truth of the statement you are making.

• Extraordinary expense: Under Section 7 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines, a court may order, or parties may agree that a proportion of some or all of the following expenses will be paid by the payor of child support, in addition to the Table amount of child support:
  1. child care expenses;
  2. medical and dental insurance premiums attributable to the child;
  3. health-related expenses that exceed insurance reimbursement by at least $100 annually;
  4. extraordinary expenses for primary or secondary school education or programs;
  5. extraordinary expenses for post-secondary education; and
  6. extraordinary expenses for extracurricular activities.
   

F

• Family Law Act, 2005: Provincial legislation which governs the determination of child support, spousal support, custody, guardianship and access in situations where the Divorce Act does not or is not applied.

• Family Law Information Centre: A free service provided by the Government of Alberta to provide parents with information regarding child support and making an application to the Court of King's Bench. See Links for more information.

• Family Violence: Family violence is when someone uses abusive behaviour to control and/or harm a member of their family, or someone with whom they have an intimate relationship. Family violence includes many different forms of physical and emotional abuse, as well as neglect carried out by family members or intimate partners.

• Federal Child Support Guidelines: Federal law governing the calculation of child support.

• Filing a document: The process of giving documents to the Clerk of the Court to be put into a file at court, Copies of the filed document are stamped by the Clerk of Court to prove the original has been filed. If the document initiates proceedings, there may be a fee charged for filing the document. Rules govern the format of documents which may be filed with the court.

• Foster home: A temporary place where a child can live when they can’t stay with their own families. In Alberta, foster homes are approved and regulated by the government.

 

G

• Grandparents Rights: Grandparents may apply to Court for custody or access to a child. In determining whether to grant grandparents access, a judge must apply the “best interest of the child” test.

• Grounds for divorce:  To obtain a divorce in Canada, a spouse must satisfy a court that there has been a breakdown of the marriage for one of the following specific reasons (grounds):
  1. the spouses having lived separate and apart for at least one year immediately preceding the determination of the divorce; or
  2. the committing of adultery; or
  3. the treatment of a spouse with mental or physical cruelty.

• Gross income: Income before taxes are deducted.

• Guardianship: A legal right and duty to care for a dependant. Guardianship status is automatically bestowed on the mother of a child. Guardianship status is automatically bestowed on the father of a child born to married parents or to fathers who meet the criteria listed in the Family Law Act. A person who does not automatically have guardianship may make an application to the court to become a guardian of a child or of a dependant adult.

• Guideline income: The amount of income used to calculate child support payable pursuant to the Federal Child Support Guidelines. The FCSG provide discretion to deviate from the income reported to Revenue Canada if a court finds that amount of income is not the fairest determination of what is or should be available to pay child support.

 

H

• Hearsay: Something someone else told you.
   

I

• Impute: To assign a value to something. For example, the court can impute an income to a person who is not sharing their financial information. In doing so, the court estimates the person’s income for the purpose of calculating support.

• Independent legal advice: Advice that each person involved in a legal issue must get from their own lawyer. Usually the advice is about an agreement to resolve issues. Your lawyer will review the agreement with you to make sure you understand it. They will also let you know if the agreement is unfair or does not follow the law. The other person must see a different lawyer than you to get advice.

• "In loco parentis": Latin, meaning ‘to stand in the place of a parent’. If, on the breakdown of a relationship, a non-biological, non-adoptive parent is found to have had a significant financial and parental role in the life of a child, that person may be able to seek a continuation of access to the child and may be required to pay child support for the child.

• Intimate Partner Violence: Intimate partner violence (IPV), sometimes called domestic violence, is any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse, and controlling behaviors by a current or former intimate partner. 

• Interim order: A court order granted at any time prior to a final order being made. Interim orders assist to stabilize contentious matters, such as custody, access and support pending trial or settlement.

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J

• Joint custody: Regardless of the day to day parenting arrangement, parents who have joint custody have either agreed or been ordered to ‘jointly’ share in the making of major decisions in the lives of their children. This is contrasted to a sole custodial arrangement, which permits the sole custodial parent to decide all matters in the lives of their children.

• Joint tenants: A way to own property with others where each owner owns the whole property equally. If one owner dies, the surviving owners remain the owners through the right of survivorship.

• Judge and Justice: A Judge presides over a Provincial Court courtroom and a Justice presides over a Court of King's Bench courtroom.

• Judgment: A decision of a Court.

• Jurisdiction: The scope of government authority or power over certain subjects, usually within a geographical area. It also refers to the scope of authority or power of a court.

• Justice: The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta.

 

L

• Landlord: The owner or manager of residential premises that is rented or leased.

• Legal fees: The fees charged by a lawyer. usually the cost per hour and other details regarding legal fees are set out in the lawyer's retainer agreement.

• Limitation period: The time a person has to start a lawsuit once the legal issue arises. In Alberta, the limitation period is usually two years but can be longer or shorter depending on the legal issue.

• Litigation: A lawsuit or legal action.

 

M

• Maintenance: Financial support for a child or a former spouse or partner.

• Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP): A free government service that collects court-ordered child support and spousal/partner support payments from the payor and distributes them to the recipient. 

• Marriage: The voluntary union of one adult to another, which leads to legal rights and obligations. 

• Marriage breakdown: The sole ground for legally ending a marriage under the Divorce Act, 1985. It can be established in three ways:
  1. through evidence that one spouse committed adultery;
  2. through evidence that one spouse committed physical or mental cruelty; or
  3. that the spouses intentionally lived separate and apart for at least one year.

• Matrimonial home: The home in which a married couple resided. 

• Matrimonial Property Act, 2000: Alberta legislation which sets forth the law which governs the division of property owned or acquired by married persons who have a substantial connection to Alberta.

• Mediation: A negotiation session with a mediator where all parties to try and settle the action without going to trial.

• Mobility: Refers to the legal ability of a parent to move a child's residence to another city, province, or country. 

• Motion: See "Application" and "Notice of Motion" 

 

N

• Negotiation: The process of resolving a conflict through oral or written offers to settle. 

• Notarized copy: A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document.

• Notary Public: A person appointed by the Government of Alberta to administer oaths, certify a document is a true copy of another and witness the signing of legal documents to be used anywhere in the world. For example, a person can swear/affirm an affidavit before a Notary Public that will be filed with a court in another province.

• Note in default: Direction from the court to continue a court proceeding based on one party’s documents even though the other party has not responded to the proceeding. The party can ask the court to note the other party in default after proving they properly served the other party with the court documents.

• Notice to Attend as Witness: A document that compels a person to appear in Court to give evidence.

• Notice of Appeal: The document required to appeal a Court decision.

• Notice of Motion: A document which is filed with the court and then served upon the opposing party to notify the opposing party that the Applicant seeks an order for particular relief, which will be heard in a Morning Chambers application or at a Domestic Special application on a particular date. The Notice of Motion is usually supported by an Affidavit and invites the opposing party to file a response if they oppose the relief sought.

• Notice of Trial: The document sent to all parties outlining the date, time and place for the Trial.

• Notice of Payment: When money is paid into Court as a method of settlement, the Alberta Court of Justice Office will send this document to the party who is owed the money to determine if they accept or refuse the offer.

• Notice to Vacate: A written notice stating the date and time by which the tenant(s) and occupants must vacate residential premises.

• Notice of Withdrawal: The document used to discontinue an action or part of an action.

 

O

• Oath: A legal promise to tell the truth.

• Occupational rent: Money paid by a person living in a property, such as one co-owner, to the owner of the property who does not live in the property, such as another co-owner.

• Oral evidence: Evidence given by speaking under oath at a questioning, hearing or trial. Sometimes it is called oral testimony or viva voce (Latin for “word of mouth”) evidence.

• Oral hearing: A court appearance where the court hears evidence from the parties under oath. The justice then decides which evidence is credible before making a decision.

• Order: A direction or decision of a Justice.

 

P

• Parties: The people involved in a court case.

• Party: An individual or business involved in a court case.

• Parallel parenting: A parenting arrangement which may be implemented in high conflict situations. A detailed parenting plan is created which enables the parents to have parenting responsibilities for the children with minimal or no communication with the other parent.

• "Parens Patriae": A Latin term used to refer to the Court of King's Bench’s inherent jurisdiction to govern or make decisions regarding children.

• Parental alienation: The act by one parent of directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously undermining a child’s relationship with the other parent.

• Parenting After Separation Course (PAS): A mandatory course run by the Alberta government for separating parents (there are some exceptions). The purpose of the course is to review matters related to custody, access and child support, with the intention of helping parents to minimize the negative impact of their separation upon their children. See Links for more information.

• Parenting plan: A written document setting out the parents’ agreement as to how they wish to raise their children after separation or divorce. The parenting plan may contain details about schedules, decision-making, parenting philosophy, and any other matters important to the parents.

• Payor: A person who pays money to another person. For example, a person who pays child support to the other parent.

• Personal property: Any property a person owns that is not real estate. Examples include vehicles, furniture, bank accounts and clothes.

• Personal representative: The person named in a Will to carry out the deceased person’s wishes.

• Plaintiff: The person who files a Statement of Claim with the court.

• Pleadings: Pleadings are documents in an action that are a Civil Claim, Counterclaims, Third Party Claims and Dispute Notes to any claims.

• Post-nuptial agreement: An agreement signed by a married couple who plan to separate. It says how they will divide their property, who will pay support, and the parenting plan and decision-making authority for their children.

• Presumptions of parentage: The Family Law Act sets forth a list of situations in which a male person will be presumed to be the father of a child.

• Proceeds: The money left from the sale of an asset after all the debts related to it are paid. For example, the proceeds from the sale of a house are the money left over after paying the mortgage owing, the realtor and the lawyer.

• Process server: A person you pay to help you find and personally serve court documents on someone else.
   

Q

• Quasi- Judicial: Refers to a legal process or body that, while resembling a court, is not a court, and is conducted by an administrative or executive official or organization, often with the power to adjudicate specific rights and obligations.

 

R

• Recipient: A person who receives money from another person. For example, a person who receives child support from the other parent.

• Reconciliation: When a separated couple gets back together.

• Recorded Mail: Delivering a document by mail or courier. Receipt of the document must be acknowledged in writing.

• Residential care and control: Refers to where a child resides on a day-to-day basis.

• Residential Tenancy Agreement: A written, oral or implied agreement to rent residential premises.

• Respondent: The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order.

• Restraining order: An Order that prohibits an individual from contacting another individual and in some cases, their children. It can be a blanket prohibition or it can be in effect only during specific times and under specific circumstances. Upon the breach of a restraining order, the police may take the party in breach into custody.

• Retainer: The contract which you sign when you hire a lawyer to take your case. It can also refer to a retainer fee, which is the sum of money you give to the lawyer up front that is ultimately applied to fees and disbursements.

• Retroactive application for support: An application for child or spousal support which seeks support payments or begin prior to the date the application was filed, or an adjustment to the amount of support which has previously been ordered, prior to the date the application was filed.

 

S

• Security Deposit (Damage Deposit): A payment required by a Landlord from a Tenant to be held by the landlord as security for the performance of an obligation or the payment of a liability by the Tenant.

• Separate / Separation: To cease living together as a couple, with the intention not to live together again. Under certain circumstances it is possible for individuals to be separated, although they live in the same residence.

• Service (Serving): The delivery of legal documents to another party in an action.

• Shared parenting: When both parents spend an equal or close to equal amount of time living with the children.

• Solicitor-client privilege: A rule that keeps the conversations between a client and their lawyer private. A lawyer cannot share things their client tells them unless they have their client’s permission or the law requires them to share the information.

• Special Chambers: Courtrooms that are open to the public where the people in a case have more than 20 minutes to talk to the justice. Special Chambers is not the same as a trial because the justice can grant an interim order to move the case along, not make a final decision.

• Spouse: A married parson, a person defined to be a spouse pursuant to the Adult Interdependent Relations Act. 

• Spousal/partner support: Money paid, by order or agreement, by one spouse to the other, following the breakdown of the relationship, to assist a spouse to achieve self-sufficiency, to relieve economic hardship from the breakdown of the relationship and to apportion the economic consequences of raising children and other decisions made during the relationship. There are no legislated spousal support guidelines. The legislative authority to order spousal support is contained in the Divorce Act and the Family Law Act. Monthly spousal support payments are tax deductible to the payor and must be claimed as income by the recipient. Spousal support can be paid either in a lump sum or periodically for a set period of time or indefinitely. Lump sum spousal support is usually not tax deductible.

• Supervised access: Visitation to a child which is monitored. The supervisor may be a family member or a paid professional.

• Swear: To promise something is true before God. For example, to swear an affidavit means to promise before God that its contents are true.
   

T

• Tenancy Agreement: A written, oral or implied agreement to rent residential premises.

• Tenant: A person permitted by the landlord to occupy Residential premises under a residential tenancy agreement.

• Tenants in common: A way to own property with others where each owner owns a share of the property. The shares of each owner do not have to be equal. For real estate, the Certificate of Title must say what share each owner owns.

• Testify: To give evidence as a witness in Court.

• Termination of Tenancy: To end a residential tenancy.

• Third Party: A person who has had a Third-Party Claim filed against them, typically by a Defendant, because they believe that person is responsible for all or part of the claim that was brought against them or because they want that person to be bound by a decision on an issue between the Plaintiff and Defendant.

• Third-Party Claim: The form that is filed to make a claim against Third Party.

• Trial: A court appearance that resolves all outstanding legal issues in a court cases. A trial includes hearing oral evidence from witnesses and can take several days depending on the issues to be resolved.

• Trial Statement: A Trial Statement is a form for you to fill out with the facts, amounts claimed or disputed, list of names of witnesses, and for you to attach all relevant documents and records. The Trial Statement also has the parties acknowledge they will be ready to proceed on the trial date, that the entire trial must be completed in the time allotted and they have attached all relevant documents and records. The parties must also acknowledge that they can and should attempt to settle the matter before trial.

 

U

• Undertaking: A promise a lawyer makes to do something.

• Undue hardship: A legal argument someone can use to reduce the amount of support they owe. The person must prove they would suffer unfair financial hardship if they had to pay the amount of support required by law.

• Unjust enrichment: A claim under property law principles that a person makes to protect property rightfully owed to them. To prove unjust enrichment, you must prove: 1. One person received an enrichment (benefit). 2. You suffered a loss or spent money on the property. 3. There is no legal reason for the enrichment (for example, it wasn’t a gift).
   

V

• Violence: Behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.

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W

• Will: A legal statement of how a person wants their estate to be dealt with after their death.

• Withdrawal: The process to discontinue an action or a part of an action.

• Without notice: A court appearance where the applicant does not have to serve court documents or give notice about the court date beforehand to the respondent.

• Without prejudice: Communication which may not be presented to a Court as evidence. Ordinarily, communication made to negotiate a settlement and communication during mediation is made on a without-prejudice basis. For certainty, the words ‘without prejudice’ often appear in letters between counsel on matters involving negotiation.

• Witness: A person that appears in court to give evidence.

• Writ of Enforcement: A court form a creditor files with the court to allow them to take steps to enforce a judgment order against a debtor.

 

1

• 14-day Notice: A written notice from the landlord advising the tenant to leave the rented premises. Notice has to be given 14 clear days before the tenant has to leave. The day the notice is served and the day the tenant is to move out are not counted.