Definitions
Access
Generally means the time children spend with the parent they do not usually live with. However, access is not limited to the parent who does not have custody — any person can apply for access to a child (including grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other relatives).
Affidavit
A document that contains facts that you swear under oath or affirm to be true. A lawyer, notary public, or commissioner of oaths must witness your signature and sign your Affidavit.
Affidavit of Service
A document that certifies that other documents have been served on (personally delivered to) the person they are intended for. It must be signed and sworn or affirmed by the person who served the documents.
Affidavit to support the application
A document that sets out the facts that would persuade a judge/master to make the order you want. It must include all facts or circumstances you want to present as evidence, since you will only be able to present information included in the Affidavit.
Affidavit in response to the application
A document that sets out the facts that would persuade the judge/master to make a different order than the one applied for. It must include all facts or circumstances you want to present as evidence, since you will only be able to present information included in the Affidavit.
Affirm/Swear
To swear means to "take an oath" in front of a lawyer, notary public, or commissioner of oaths that the contents of an Affidavit are true to the best of your knowledge and belief and that your oath is "under an immediate sense of responsibility to God." You can also "affirm," which means you solemnly and formally declare the contents of the Affidavit to be true.
Age of majority
The age at which a person legally becomes an adult, which means they can do such things as vote and enter into a binding contract. In BC, the age of majority is 19.
Annulment
A proceeding you can take to end an invalid marriage (for example, if one spouse was already married, or if the husband and wife found out they were brother and sister).
Appearance
One of the documents a defendant must file if he or she objects to the Statement of Claim (Form 128).
Applicant
In many court proceedings, a term used for the party who initiates the action or court proceedings.
Arrears
Past support payments that have not been paid.
Attorn
To attorn means to accept the jurisdiction of a particular court, usually by filing responding court documents (e.g., a Reply) and/or appearing in court.
Backing sheet
An 8½" x 11" letter-size piece of paper that is attached to the back of some court documents, such as a Statement of Claim (Form 128) or an Order. The style of cause, name of the document, and name, address, and phone number of one or both of the parties is typed on the backing sheet. The backing sheet is used to help the court registry staff efficiently identify the documents and the parties.
Chambers
A name for a Supreme Court courtroom where applications or motions (not trials) are heard.
Chambers Record
A loose-leaf ring binder, divided by tabs, that contains the documents that the judge/master uses to decide whether to grant the order being applied for. It includes a table of contents and photocopies of documents prepared or collected by the applicant.
Child or children of the marriage
Could be a natural (biological) child of the marriage, an adopted child, a child for whom both spouses act as parents, or a child of one spouse if the other spouse had a parent-child relationship with that child. Under the Divorce Act, a child of the marriage is a child under the age of majority who has not withdrawn from a parent's charge or one who is over the age of majority (19 in BC) but unable to withdraw from a parent's charge due to illness, disability, or other cause.
Child Support Affidavit (Form 133)
A document used to outline what arrangements have been made for the children in a divorce where there are children of the marriage.
Collusion
An agreement or conspiracy between the spouses to lie or deceive the court in order to get a divorce. To get a divorce, you must swear that there has been no collusion.
Commissioner of oaths
A person with the legal authority to administer an oath or an affirmation (for example, to "swear" an Affidavit).
Common-law marriage
A same-sex or opposite-sex couple who are not married but have lived together (under federal law, after a year or more; under BC provincial law, after two years or more).
Consent order
If two parties who want to get or change a support, custody, guardianship, or access order agree on what the order should say, they can draw up a document called a Consent Order. They may be able to file this order with the court registry and have it signed by a judge or master without ever having to appear in court.
Costs
In Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, a master or judge's order that the losing party in a lawsuit pay the legal expenses (which may include court fees, disbursements, and legal fees) of the successful party. These orders may be made after an interim hearing but are usually made at the end of a trial or appeal.
Counterclaim
A form a defendant can use to start his or her own claim when responding to an application for an initial family order in Supreme Court. It provides information about both parties, details of the marriage (relationship) and separation, and details of the order the defendant wants.
Custodial parent
The parent who has custody of the child.
Custody
Can refer to where and with whom a child lives, or where a child lives and the rights and responsibilities of a parent regarding the child in his or her care.
Defendant
In Supreme Court procedures, the term used for a party who responds to the action or court proceedings.
Deponent
A person who swears, takes an oath, or affirms that the information in a form (for example, an Affidavit or Child Support Affidavit [Form 133]) is true. The deponent must sign his or her form in the presence of a commissioner of oaths, lawyer, or notary public.
Desk-order divorce
An uncontested divorce. The parties can ask for a divorce order by filing a Requisition with other documents, and they do not have to appear in front of a judge in the Supreme Court.
Disclosure
The process of exchanging necessary information (for example, financial statements) with the other party is called "disclosure."
Entered
At the conclusion of a case (which may or may not include going to court), the Order containing all the details is "entered." An "entered" Order is one that has been approved (signed) by a judge/master or registrar and filed (stamped) at the court registry office.
Exhibit
A document referred to in an Affidavit, which may be attached to the Affidavit. The document must be identified by the commissioner of oaths, lawyer, or notary public at the time he or she administers the deponent's oath or affirmation.
Family case conferences
A one-hour informal meeting with a judge and the other party to try and settle some custody, access, and guardianship issues so you can avoid a full hearing in Provincial Court.
Family order
The term we use to describe a court order for one or more of child support, spousal support, custody, guardianship, and access.
Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP)
If you choose to enroll in the BC Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP), this program will monitor the child support and/or spousal support payments you should be receiving according to your order or agreement, and take action to get you the payments if you are not getting them.
Financial Statement (Form 89)
A document that tells the court about your income, expenses, assets, and debts.
Guardianship
The responsibility for making major decisions for children about such things as what kind of education, health care, or religious training they will receive, and how to manage anything the children may own, such as property or money.
Imputed
If a person’s income is “imputed,” this means that it is judged to be higher than it appears on the various financial documents that he or she has submitted to the court.
Incur
If you incur an expense for the children, it means that you are taking on that expense, and that you will have to pay it.
Interim order
Any order made before a trial and intended to be temporary.
Interjurisdictional
This term refers to situations where a court action involves more than one territorial jurisdiction (for example, one or more of the parties live outside BC).
Judicial Case Conference (JCC)
A confidential meeting that both parties usually must have with a judge/master before any court application can be made. The purpose is to clearly identify the issues to be decided, review different ways to resolve the issues (such as settlement conferences, mediation, or other ways), and manage the flow of the case in court (for example, the timing of court hearings, exchanges of information, etc.).
Jurisdiction
This term refers to a court's power or authority over people, territories, or subject matter.
Maintenance/support
Money paid by one party to the other party as financial support. Support can be paid for a former spouse, or for any or all children.
Master
A judicial officer of the Supreme Court who can decide certain matters. Generally, a master may decide about interim orders for custody, guardianship, access, and support. A master may not change a judge's final order or grant a divorce.
Mediation
An approach to solving problems in which a third party intervenes to help two opposing parties settle a problem. Usually mediators are individuals who are specially qualified to help people reach agreements. They may specialize in particular areas, such as custody and access or property division. Some mediators are also lawyers.
No contact order
A court order that prohibits a person from contacting someone else (usually his or her former partner/spouse). It is a criminal offence to do anything forbidden by the no contact order. A no contact order may be a condition of release from custody before trial, a condition of probation, a criminal peace bond, or a civil restraining order.
Notary public
A professional legal or public officer (includes all lawyers) with the authority to administer or commission oaths and affirmations, certify Affidavits, declarations, or other documents, take acknowledgments, take depositions or testimony, commission Affidavits of Service, and prepare wills, mortgages, and other legal documents. They also officially authenticate/witness signatures, certify documents as true copies, provide Affidavits of lost documents, name changes, and notarial certificates, and duplicate original notarizations.
Notice of Hearing (Form 126)
A document that tells the court when you will be appearing in court, how long you expect your case to take, and whether a master (instead of a judge) can hear your case.
Notice of Intention to Proceed
The form used when there has been a long delay in a Supreme Court action and one party wants to notify the other that the court process is going to start up again.
Notice of Motion (Form 55)
A document that tells the judge/master and the other party what type of order an applicant is asking for, what evidence he or she will use to support the application, what the legal basis is for the order being requested, and how long the applicant thinks the hearing will take.
Notice to File a Form 89 Financial Statement (Form 91)
A Notice to File a Form 89 Financial Statement (Form 91) is a form used to request information about the other party's financial situation.
Order (Form 125)
A document that records the decision of a judge/master and is entered at the court registry after the judge/master makes his or her decision.
Outline
A document that lets the judge/master know what your case is about — what you are applying for, what you would like in the court order, the legal basis for and facts behind your application, and the materials that will help prove your case.
Party (or parties)
A participant in a given court case, contract, or other legal matter; can be an individual, a corporation, or other entity.
Payor
The term used to describe the spouse who pays support or maintenance.
Plaintiff
In Supreme Court, the term used for a party who initiates the action or court proceedings.
Process server
A person who is in the business of serving or giving documents to the other party.
Reasons for Judgment
A document that contains the facts upon which the judge has based his or her decision, the judge's reasons for making that decision, and the decision itself. Reasons for Judgment may be written or oral. If they are oral, the parties may order a transcript of them from the court.
Recipient
The term used to describe the spouse who receives child or spousal support/maintenance.
Reciprocal agreement
BC has reciprocal agreements with all other Canadian provinces, the United States, and several other countries. This means the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP) can ask another province, territory, state, or country to enforce a support order, and the other province, territory, state, or country can ask the FMEP to enforce an order for one of their clients.
Registrar's Certificate
A document filed in the court registry that the registry staff sign to show the judge they have checked your documents and that everything is procedurally correct before they send your documents to the judge.
Reply Affidavit
An Affidavit you prepare if the other party raises new facts or issues in his or her Affidavit in response to the application that you have not yet addressed, and that you believe require a reply.
Requisition
A document filed in the court registry that tells the court what you want.
Requisition and Notice of Judicial Case Conference
A document that you file in the court registry to tell the court that you want a Judicial Case Conference.
Respondent
In many court proceedings, a term used for a party who responds to the application.
Response to a Notice of Motion (Form 124)
A document responding to an application that tells the judge/master and the other party what the respondent does not agree with in the application, what evidence he or she will use to support his or her position against the application, the legal basis for not agreeing with the order requested, and how long the respondent thinks the hearing will take.
Separation agreement
A document separating or separated spouses can draw up to put in writing those matters that are settled between them. Some of the matters the spouses might deal with in this document include custody, access, guardianship, child or spousal support/maintenance, or division of assets or debts. There is no official form to use for drawing up a separation agreement.
Service/serve
The act of delivering or leaving documents with the other party. Usually followed by completing and swearing or affirming an Affidavit of Service to certify that the documents were received by the other party.
Special or extraordinary expenses
Special expenses are extra expenses for a child over and above the regular cost of living, such as child care expenses while the recipient works or goes to school or is ill or disabled, medical and dental insurance premiums specifically for the child, health-related expenses that exceed insurance reimbursement by at least $100 annually, and expenses for post-secondary education. Extraordinary expenses are expenses for education, programs, or extracurricular activities that meet the child's needs, such as tutoring or private school, or, possibly, for other activities in which the child excels and is shown to be particularly gifted.
Spouse
According to the BC Family Relations Act, the term "spouse" applies to the members of a same-sex or opposite-sex couple, married or in a common-law relationship. For the purpose of getting spousal support, if the parties are not married, they must have lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years and one party must apply for support within one year after they stop living together.
Statement of Claim (Form 128)
In a Supreme Court family proceeding, a document that tells the court more about you and the other party, such as the details of your marriage and separation, and exactly what you are asking for. This form is used for both divorce and family orders applications. If you are applying for divorce or family order jointly with your spouse, you would use a Joint Statement of Claim (Form 128A).
Statement of Defence
In Supreme Court proceedings, a document that the defendant must complete and file if he or she wants to object to the plaintiff's Statement of Claim (Form 128 or 128A).
Style of cause (style of proceedings)
All the information at the top of the front page of each court form. Includes the court file number, the name of the court registry, the title "Supreme Court of British Columbia" or "Provincial Court of British Columbia," the name of each party, and the name of the form. Sometimes called the "style of proceedings".
Substituted/substitutional service
Substituted service is when a court gives you permission (after you apply) to serve documents on a party in some way other than giving him or her the documents personally; for example, by serving them on a family member.
Support/maintenance
Money paid by one party to the other party as financial support. Support can be paid for a former spouse or for any or all children.
Swear/Affirm
To swear means to "take an oath" in front of a lawyer, notary public, or commissioner of oaths that the contents of an Affidavit are true to the best of your knowledge and belief and that your oath is "under an immediate sense of responsibility to God." You can also "affirm," which means you solemnly and formally declare the contents of the Affidavit to be true.
Trial
When both parties and their witnesses appear before a judge and give their evidence under oath and out loud. They are then cross-examined by the other party or his or her lawyer. A trial is also sometimes called a hearing, especially in Provincial Court.
Undue hardship
Circumstances that allow a payor to avoid paying the full amount of child support under the child support guidelines. The payor must prove that the payments would be "undue" or exceptional, excessive, or disproportionate.
Vary/variation/Variation Order
The term "to vary" means "to change" and is sometimes used by lawyers, judges, and court personnel to refer to changing an order. In some of the self-help guides, the revised order is called a Variation Order.
Writ of Summons (Form 127)
A document that tells the court who you are and gives a summary of what you want. In a divorce or family proceeding, the Writ of Summons (Form 127) includes information for the other party. It explains what his or her rights are after being served with these documents, and what he or she needs to do to defend (fight) the divorce or family action. If you are applying jointly with your spouse, you would use a Joint Writ of Summons (Form 127A).
