A guide to Legal Terms

Absent Parent: Parent who does not live in the same house as the child/ren.

Adjournment: Putting off/postponing a court event to another time

Adultery: Sexual intercourse taking place voluntarily between a married person and a person of the opposite sex, where the other person is not their spouse, whilst the marriage is still in existence. It is still adultery even if the parties to the marriage are already separated and the adultery was not the cause of the separation.  Actual sexual intercourse must take place and that adultery can only take place between persons of the opposite sex and does not include same sex sexual relations.

Affidavit:  Your written statement setting out the facts of your case (your evidence). It must be sworn or affirmed, usually before a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner of Oaths or lawyer, as a true statement. Affidavits may also be sworn by other people in support of your case (witnesses).

Ancillary relief: Financial claims that a person can pursue on the breakdown of their marriage within divorce proceedings.

Applicant: The person who first comes to the Court asking for an order to be made.

Certificate of Entitlement to Decree Nisi: This document will confirm that you have proved the contents of your petition and that you are entitled to a Decree Nisi.  It will confirm the date when Decree Nisi will be pronounced in Court.  It will also state whether the Court is considering making an order for costs and whether the Court wishes to see you and the Respondent about any issues concerning the children.

Certified Copy: When copies of an original document are made, you need to be able to show that they are true copies. A solicitor can do this by endorsing the copy – that is, writing on the copy that it is a true copy and then signing and dating the statement. 

Child of the family: Child who has been treated by parties to a marriage as a child belonging to their family, irrespective of the fact of whether the child is a biological child or not, e.g. step child/ren.

Clean break: Settlement where the parties do not have any claims against each other for income, capital, property or pension, during their lifetime or in the event of their death.

Consent Orders: These are made where both parties come to an agreement and that agreement is lodged before the Courts for its approval, which the Court can do by sealing the order. These orders are as binding as any other order made by the Court once the order has been sealed by the Court.

Contact: The time that the child/ren spend with their non-resident parent. Contact arrangements can be made by agreement or by an order of the Court. (see also “Residence).

CSA/Child Support Agency: Government Department that deals with child maintenance from an absent parent.

Decree Nisi: The decree nisi is the first part of the divorce and the stage whereby the Court has approved that the Petitioner is entitled to the divorce as presented. The parties are not actually divorced at this time and a period of six weeks and one day must pass from the pronouncement of the Decree Nisi before the Petitioner may apply for Decree Absolute.  The Respondent may apply for Decree Absolute three months after the Petitioner may apply.

Decree Absolute: This is the final Order in divorce proceedings that dissolves the marriage between the parties.

Domicile: Domicile has a complex legal definition. However for these purposes, your domicile should be your country of permanent residence which may not necessarily be the country where you currently live.   For example, if you were born in England but you are currently living and working in Germany on a 2 year contract and intended to return to England after your contract ended, then your domicile would be England.  If you have any doubt with respect to your domicile then you should seek advice from a solicitor.

Habitually Resident: This is where you are ordinarily resident in a country.  For you to be habitually resident in a country there must be a regular physical presence which must last for some time.

Judicial Separation proceedings: This confirms that the parties of the marriage are separated. It is an alternative to divorce, used mainly where there is a moral or religious objection to divorce but enables the parties to seek financial order similar to that available on divorce.

Mediation: This service is offered by the Court and Mediation Services to help settle disputes by agreement rather than at Court. Mediation can deal with child-related issues, financial matters and how to dissolve a marriage. This is a structured approach depending on the individual’s needs and circumstances of their family. Mediators are often legally trained as solicitors or other equivalent but do not act in this capacity, their role is an independent third party to assist the parties in resolving the issues in dispute. Any agreement reached at Mediation is not legally binding.  To make an agreement reached at Mediation legally binding, it should be drawn up into a Consent Order and sealed by the Court.

Negotiation: The process where each party sets out what they want and tries to reach agreement. This can be done in writing or by talking to each other at any time, or through their solicitors.

Order: The Court has the power to order a party to the proceedings to do certain things.

Parties: Both the Applicant and the Respondent are parties to the proceedings. If a third party is joined or someone is given permission to intervene they also become party to the proceedings.

Petition: This is the document that commences divorce proceedings. It sets out details about both parties and the fact that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and on what basis the petition is presented.

Petitioner: The person who presents the divorce petition to the Court.

Residence: Word used to describe where a child will live. This can be by agreement or by Court Order. The parent with whom a child lives is the “resident parent”.

Respondent: The person who responds to the application by agreeing to or opposing the orders sought by the Applicant.

Parental Responsibility: This means the rights and Responsibilities that a parent has over a child.  Where the parents are married, this responsibility is shared equally and is automatic and does not cease upon divorce or re-marriage. If the parties have never been married, the biological mother has parental responsibility and the father can apply to the Courts, if the mother will not agree to provide parental responsibility to him. Even if the parties are not married the father will be deemed to automatically have parental responsibility if the child was born after the 1st December 2003 and is named on the birth certificate. Parental responsibility can relate to long term issues such as education, religion, serious health concerns or day to day issues such as attendances at sport, parties, homework etc.

Sealed Copy: A copy of a document which has an original Court seal (stamp) on it.

Service (of documents): The provision of documents by one party to another. This can be effected by personal delivery, by post and, in some instances, by fax. If a party has an address for service (this could be their own address, or another person’s address such as a business address or their solicitor’s address) filed with the Court, you should make sure that the documents are delivered to that address. There are rules about what method of service of different types of documents you should use– check with your solicitor or the court. Documents that are being served need to be a Sealed Copy

Spouse: Your husband or wife.

Unreasonable behaviour: Where the Respondent has behaved in such a way that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to have to live with the Respondent. It can cover a wide range of behaviour.

Witness: A person who gives evidence to the Court about their knowledge of a case.