Glossary
Every term,in plain English.
92 terms you will meet in separation and divorce across Canada and the United States, defined the way a good lawyer would explain them across a kitchen table.
5
529 plan
A US education savings account owned by an adult for a beneficiary. The owner controls it, so divorce decrees commonly restrict changes and withdrawals.
A
Adult interdependent partner
Alberta's term for a common-law partner: three years of cohabitation, or less with a child, or by written agreement.
Affidavit of Support (I-864)
The US sponsor's enforceable promise to maintain an immigrant spouse at 125 percent of the poverty guideline, which survives divorce.
Alimony
The US term for spousal support. Types vary by state: temporary (pendente lite), rehabilitative, durational, permanent and lump sum. Several states have moved to durational limits by length of marriage.
Arbitration
A private process in which the spouses appoint an arbitrator to make binding decisions, often faster than court. Family arbitration is regulated in Ontario and available in most US states.
Arrears
Unpaid support that has accumulated. Survives bankruptcy in both countries and is collected by enforcement agencies.
B
Best interests of the child
The only test courts apply in parenting decisions. Statutes list factors including the child's needs, relationships, views, culture, stability, each parent's ability, and family violence.
C
CPP credit splitting
The equal division of Canada Pension Plan contributions made by both spouses during the years they lived together, on application to Service Canada after divorce or separation.
Case conference / settlement conference
Court-scheduled meetings with a judge in Canadian family proceedings intended to narrow issues and encourage settlement before trial.
Certificate of divorce
The document issued after a Canadian divorce order takes effect, needed to remarry or to prove the divorce.
Certificate of independent legal advice
A signed statement by the lawyer confirming they explained the agreement and its consequences to their client, attached to the agreement.
Child support
Money paid by one parent to the other for the children's living costs. In Canada, set by the Federal Child Support Guidelines tables based on the payor's income and number of children. In the US, set by each state's guidelines.
Cohabitation agreement
A contract between unmarried partners setting out property and support rights if they separate. Becomes a marriage contract if they marry.
Collaborative family law
A process in which each spouse has a lawyer and all sign an agreement to settle without court; if it fails, both lawyers must withdraw.
Commingling
Mixing separate property with marital or family property so that it loses its separate character, for example depositing an inheritance into a joint account used for household spending.
Common-law partner
An unmarried partner who has lived with another in a conjugal relationship for a period set by statute (three years in Ontario for support, two in BC for property). Rights vary widely by province and are limited in Quebec.
Community property
The property regime in nine US states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin). Assets and debts acquired during the marriage belong to both spouses equally and are divided equally on divorce.
Compensatory support
Spousal support that compensates a spouse for economic disadvantage caused by the marriage, such as leaving the workforce to raise children. Distinct from needs-based support.
Conditional permanent residence
US green card status granted for two years when the marriage was under two years old at approval; conditions are removed with Form I-751, which a divorced spouse can file alone with a waiver.
Constructive trust / unjust enrichment
The claim common-law partners use in provinces without statutory property sharing: that one partner was enriched at the other's expense with no legal reason, entitling the other to a share of property.
Custody
The older Canadian term, still used in most US states, for the right to make decisions for a child (legal custody) and to have the child live with you (physical custody).
D
Decision-making responsibility
Authority to make significant decisions about a child's health, education, religion and welfare. Replaces the older term "custody" in Canada. Can be joint, sole or divided by subject.
Decree of dissolution / divorce decree
The US court judgment that ends the marriage and sets out the terms, including the incorporated settlement agreement.
Divorce
The legal end of a marriage, granted by a court. In Canada, under the federal Divorce Act after one year of separation. In the US, under state law.
Domestic contract
Ontario's term for marriage contracts, cohabitation agreements and separation agreements under Part IV of the Family Law Act.
Double dipping
Counting the same asset twice: dividing a pension or business as property and then also calculating spousal support on the income it produces. Courts try to avoid it, following Boston v. Boston in Canada.
Duress
Pressure that overcomes a person's free will to sign. A ground for setting aside an agreement.
E
Equalization
Ontario's method of dividing property. Each spouse calculates net family property (assets minus debts at separation, minus the same at marriage). The spouse with the higher figure pays half the difference to the other. The property itself is not split; the value is equalised.
Equitable distribution
The property regime in the other US states. Marital property is divided fairly according to statutory factors, which often but not always means equally. Separate property stays with its owner.
Excluded property
Property a spouse owned before the relationship, or received as a gift or inheritance, which is kept by that spouse. In BC and Alberta the growth in its value during the relationship is still shared.
Exclusive possession
A court order giving one spouse the right to occupy the family home and excluding the other, regardless of ownership. Available in every Canadian province, commonly in cases of family violence.
F
Family Law Value
In Ontario, the value of a pension for family law purposes, calculated by the plan administrator on prescribed forms.
Family property
In BC, Alberta and most provinces, property acquired by either spouse during the relationship, divided equally on separation subject to exceptions. Distinct from excluded property.
Family violence
Broadly defined in the Divorce Act to include physical, sexual and psychological abuse, threats, harassment, financial abuse and coercive control, whether or not criminal. A factor in every parenting decision.
Federal Child Support Guidelines
The Canadian regulations under the Divorce Act that set child support using income-based tables for each province, plus rules for special expenses, shared parenting time, undue hardship and imputing income. Provinces adopt them for unmarried parents.
Financial disclosure
The obligation of each spouse to give the other complete, accurate information about income, assets and debts. Mandatory in every Canadian province and US state. An agreement signed without full disclosure can be set aside.
Financial statement (Form 13 / 13.1)
Ontario's sworn court forms for financial disclosure. Form 13 is used when only support is claimed; Form 13.1 when property is also claimed. Other provinces and states have equivalents.
G
Guardian ad litem
In many US states, a person appointed by the court to investigate and report on a child's best interests in a custody case.
H
Hague Convention
The international treaty under which a child wrongfully removed to or retained in another member country can be ordered returned. Canada and the US are both parties.
Henson trust
A Canadian discretionary trust used to leave assets to a person with a disability without affecting their means-tested benefits.
I
Imputed income
Income a court attributes to a parent that is higher than what they actually report, because they are intentionally underemployed, hiding income, diverting it through a corporation or failing to disclose. Section 19 of the Guidelines in Canada; state guidelines in the US.
Indemnity
A promise in an agreement to compensate the other party if a specified loss occurs, for example if a debt assigned to one spouse is collected from the other.
Independent legal advice (ILA)
Advice from a lawyer who represents only you, before you sign an agreement. It makes the agreement much harder to set aside and is required by many lawyers before they will witness a signature.
J
Joint divorce
A divorce application signed by both spouses, avoiding the need for service.
L
Living separate and apart
The ground for divorce in Canada after one year. Can occur under one roof if the spouses have stopped living as a couple.
Locked-in retirement account (LIRA)
The Canadian account that receives a transfer of pension money on separation; funds cannot be withdrawn as cash before retirement.
M
Maintenance enforcement program
The provincial agency that collects support in Canada: the Family Responsibility Office in Ontario, MEP in Alberta, FMEP in BC, and equivalents elsewhere.
Marital property
In US equitable distribution states, property acquired during the marriage by either spouse, subject to division. Compare separate property.
Marital settlement agreement
The US term for the written settlement of property, support and parenting terms incorporated into the divorce decree.
Marriage contract / prenuptial agreement
A contract made before or during marriage setting out property and support rights on separation or death. Called a prenup in the US. Cannot override child support or, in Ontario, rights to the matrimonial home.
Material change in circumstances
The legal test for varying support or parenting orders: a significant, continuing change that was not foreseen when the order or agreement was made.
Matrimonial home
In Ontario, the home ordinarily occupied by the spouses at separation. Its full value is included in net family property regardless of who owned it before marriage, and neither spouse can sell or mortgage it without the other's consent.
Mediation
A voluntary process in which a neutral mediator helps spouses reach agreement. The mediator does not decide anything. Usually far cheaper and faster than litigation.
Motion
A request to the court for an order on a specific issue before trial, such as interim support or disclosure.
N
Net family property
In Ontario, a spouse's net worth at the valuation date minus their net worth at the date of marriage, with the matrimonial home included in full and gifts and inheritances from third parties excluded if still traceable.
O
Office of the Children's Lawyer
An Ontario government office that represents children's interests in family cases, through lawyers or clinical investigators, when appointed by a court.
P
Parallel parenting
A structure for high-conflict parents that minimises direct contact: detailed plans, separate decision domains, communication through an app. Compare co-parenting.
Parenting coordinator
A trained professional, often a lawyer or mental health professional, who helps high-conflict parents implement a parenting plan and can make minor binding decisions under an agreement or order.
Parenting plan
A written agreement setting out the parenting schedule, holidays, decision-making, communication, relocation, dispute resolution and other terms for raising children in two homes.
Parenting time
The time a child spends with each parent under the Divorce Act (since 2021) and provincial statutes. Replaces the older term "access."
Peace bond
A Criminal Code order in Canada requiring a person to keep the peace and comply with conditions such as no contact, obtained where there is a reasonable fear of harm.
Pendente lite
Latin for "pending the litigation." Temporary orders for support, custody or possession that apply while the case is ongoing.
Q
Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
A US court order directing a private retirement plan to pay part of a participant's benefit to a former spouse. Required to divide 401(k)s and pensions without tax.
R
RESP
Registered Education Savings Plan. Owned by the subscriber, not the child, so treated as property on separation unless the agreement preserves it.
Relocation
A move by a parent that significantly affects the child's relationship with the other parent. In Canada, 60 days written notice is required and the other parent can object; the court decides on best interests.
Residency requirement
The period a spouse must have lived in a province or state before filing for divorce: one year in Canada; commonly six months to a year in US states.
Restraining order / protective order
A court order prohibiting one person from contacting or approaching another. Civil restraining orders under family statutes in Canada; protective orders in every US state.
Rule of 65
Under the SSAG, where the recipient's age plus the years of the marriage equals 65 or more, support is generally indefinite rather than time-limited.
S
Section 1041 transfer
The US Internal Revenue Code provision under which transfers of property between spouses incident to divorce are not taxable events.
Section 7 expenses
Special or extraordinary expenses under section 7 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines: childcare, medical and dental insurance premiums, health costs over $100 per year, extraordinary school expenses, post-secondary education and extraordinary extracurriculars. Shared in proportion to the parents' incomes on top of the table amount.
Separate property
Property owned before marriage or received by gift or inheritance during it, generally not divided on divorce in the US. Can become marital if commingled.
Separation agreement
A written contract between separating spouses or partners that settles property, debt, support and parenting. In Canada it is a domestic contract that must be in writing, signed and witnessed; in the US it is usually incorporated into the divorce decree. It is enforceable as a contract and, once filed, as a court order for support.
Separation date
The day at least one spouse decided the relationship was over and acted on it. It fixes the valuation date for property in Ontario, marks when support obligations begin, and starts limitation periods. You can be separated while living in the same home.
Set aside
To cancel an agreement, usually because of non-disclosure, duress, misunderstanding or unconscionability. Section 56(4) of Ontario's Family Law Act is the leading provision.
Set-off
A method of calculating child support in shared parenting situations: each parent's table amount is calculated and the higher-earning parent pays the difference.
Special needs trust
The US equivalent of a Henson trust, used to preserve eligibility for SSI and Medicaid.
Sponsorship undertaking
In Canada, a sponsor's promise to support a sponsored spouse for three years after permanent residence, which survives separation.
Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG)
Canadian guidelines that suggest ranges for the amount and duration of spousal support using two formulas: the with-child-support formula and the without-child-support formula. Not law, but courts use them routinely.
Spousal rollover
The Canadian tax rule allowing property, including RRSPs, to be transferred between separating spouses without triggering tax, with the recipient taking over the tax cost.
Spousal support
Money paid by one spouse to the other after separation, based on need, the recipient's economic disadvantage from the marriage, and the payor's ability to pay. Called alimony or maintenance in the US.
Sworn financial affidavit
The US equivalent of a financial statement: a sworn declaration of income, expenses, assets and debts required in most states.
T
Table amount
The base monthly child support figure from the Guidelines table for the payor's province, income and number of children.
Title IV-D
The US federal program under which every state runs a child support enforcement agency with income withholding, tax intercept and licence suspension powers.
U
Unconscionable
So unfair that a court will not enforce it. A ground for setting aside an agreement, especially where one party was vulnerable.
Uncontested divorce
A divorce where the other spouse does not oppose it, usually because everything has been settled by agreement. Handled on paper in Canada and in many US states.
Undue hardship
A claim under section 10 of the Guidelines to depart from the table amount because it would cause undue hardship, for example due to unusually high access costs or support obligations to other children. Rarely succeeds; the claiming household must also have a lower standard of living.
V
Valuation date
The date on which assets and debts are valued for property division. In Ontario it is the separation date under the Family Law Act. Other jurisdictions value at different points, often the date of agreement or trial.
Variation
A change to an existing order or agreement, usually for support or parenting, made by agreement or by court application on a material change in circumstances.
Views of the child
The child's own preferences, considered according to age and maturity. Gathered through a Voice of the Child report, a children's lawyer or a judicial interview rather than testimony.
W
Waiting period
A statutory period in many US states between filing and the earliest date a divorce can be granted, from none to six months.
Without prejudice
A label on communications or payments meaning they cannot be used as an admission later. Interim payments made without prejudice do not set a precedent for the final settlement.
No terms match. Suggest one.