Family

  • Adoption Order

    The court order when a child is...

  • Annul

    To declare no longer...

  • Calderbank Letter

    This is a letter making an offer of settlement prior to the case going to hearing, similar to a Part 36...

  • Care Order

    This is an order which places a child in the care of the local...

  • Child Maintenance

    Money due from a non-resident parent to the parent with whom the child...

  • Civil Partner

    A member of a same-sex...

  • Clean break

    This is where financial matters are agreed by the parties in full and final settlement and there is no ongoing financial arrangement between them either in terms of income or...

  • Co_habitation

    Couples who are living together who are not married to each other...

  • Collaborative Law

    A form of dispute resolution in which family lawyers and their clients agree in writing to reach a settlement without court...

  • Consent Order

    An order which is negotiated and agreed by both parties and sanctioned by the...

  • Contact Order

    An order of the court stipulating the terms upon which a child will see either mother or father or any other person...

  • Custody

    See...

  • Decree Absolute

    A court order which dissolves a...

  • Decree Nisi

    This is a document which is issued once the court is satisfied that the grounds of divorce are...

  • Deed of Separation

    A written agreement setting out agreed terms for separation often prior to a divorce...

  • Divorce

    The court procedure bringing an end to a marriage...

  • Emergency Protection Order

    This is made when a child is deemed to be in immediate danger and may have to be taken away from home...

  • Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR)

    This is designed to enable parties to discuss and negotiate a final settlement of the matrimonial...

  • First directions appointment (FDA)

    This allows a Court to see if any agreement can be reached between the parties or identify any further steps which need to be...

  • Infant

    A person under 18 years of...

  • Interim Care Order

    This places a child in the care of the local authority on an interim basis whilst the family is assessed and until the court can make a final...

  • Judicial Separation

    A decree short of divorce, under which a couple remains legally married but their normal marital obligations cease and they no longer have to go on living...

  • Juvenile

    Person under 17 years of...

  • Lump sum order

    Order for the payment of a capital sum from one party to...

  • Maintenance

    A sum of money paid by one party to support the other...

  • Maintenance pending suit

    A maintenance order for a sum of money made before the final order in...

  • Maternity Rights

    All employees are entitled to some maternity leave and most employees will be entitled to maternity pay...

  • Mediation

    The process through which separating couples seek to reach an...

  • Minor

    Someone below 18 years of...

  • Next Friend

    A person representing a minor or person deemed to lack mental capacity, who is involved in legal...

  • Nominal Maintenance

    A maintenance order which consists of a very small amount that it is not anticipated will be paid (simply to retain keep maintenance...

  • Occupation Order

    This decides who should live in a home after there has been violence or...

  • Parental Responsibility Order

    An order of the court or written agreement, required by a father of a child, who is not married to the child's mother...

  • Party Cited

    A person is brought into divorce proceedings, with whom the Respondent is alleged to have committed...

  • Paternity

    Establishing who is the father of the child...

  • Pension attachment

    This allows the Court to make an Order directing Pension Trustees to pay a percentage of the lump sum or pension on maturity to the person named in the Order (previously knoan as...

  • Pension sharing

    The transfer of a specified amount from one party’s pension into a pension scheme of the other party’s...

  • Periodical Payments Order

    An order of the court making a regular payment to a wife or child...

  • Petition

    A method of commencing divorce...

  • Police Protection Order

    This is where the police place a child under police protection if they think that the child is in immediate...

  • Post Nuptial Agreement

    This is essentially a Pre Nuptial Agreement which is entered into during or after the...

  • Pre Nuptial Agreement

    An agreeement before marriage takes place, as to how assets should be split if a marriage breaks down - it is generally not enforced by British...

  • Prohibited Steps Order

    This is a court order prohibiting the person specified in the order from taking a certain step - eg. to prevent a parent removing a child from the court's...

  • Residence

    This refers to where and with whom a child...

  • Secured periodical payments

    Where periodical payments are secured by the investment of a capital...

  • Special Guardianship Order

    An order which gives the holder parental responsibility for a child and which allows them to use that to the exclusion of any other person with parental...

  • Spouse

    Husband or Wife...

  • Statement of Arrangements

    A form setting out the details of arrangements for the children after the...

  • Ward of Court

    The title given to a minor who is the subject of a wardship...

  • Wardship Order

    The order ensures that custody of the minor is held by the Court with everyday care of the minor being carried out by an individual or local authority, with all decisions regarding the upbringing of the minor to be approved by the...

  • Yardstick of Equality

    This is a principle applied for sharing the value of the assets left after the needs of the parties for housing, child care and day to day living costs have been...
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