Glossary - Family Law
In Family Law
To serve a document by special service means you have to give a copy of that document to your partner by either:
- getting someone like a family member, friend, or process server to give the copy to your partner in person
- giving the copy directly to your partner’s lawyer
- giving the copy to an adult living at the same home as your partner and also mailing a copy of the document your partner’s address within one day
There are rules about how to serve a document by special service that depend on how you serve the document. For example, you can mail the document but your partner must mail you back a special form to say that they received your document.
Some documents, such as documents that start a court case, must be served by special service. Most documents can be served by regular service.
In Family Law
Split custody is where parents who have separated or divorced have:
- more than one child together, and
- each parent has one or more of their children living with them most of the time.
Split custody may affect the amount of child support paid.
In Family Law
Split parenting time, which used to be called split custody, is where parents who have separated or divorced have:
- more than one child together, and
- each parent has one or more of their children living with them most of the time.
Split parenting time may affect how much child support is paid.
In Family Law
Spousal support is money paid by one partner to the other partner after they separate or divorce. Spousal support is not automatic. The partner asking for spousal support must show that they have a legal right to spousal support.
If spousal support is paid, the partner with the higher income almost always pays support to the partner with the lower income. There are Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines that help lawyers and judges calculate how much and how long support needs to be paid. There’s also an online tool that can give you a basic idea of how much and for how long, support needs to be paid.
In Family Law
The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs) are guidelines that can help you and your partner and a judge decide how much spousal support should be paid and for how long. These are only guidelines, not laws. A judge can order more or less support than what the guidelines say.
The SSAGs use 2 different formulas. One is for partners who have no children together. The other is for partners who have children together.
The formulas calculate a range of low, middle, and high support amounts, as well as the length of time spousal support might need to be paid for.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law, Housing Law, Tribunals and Courts
A summons is a legal document that requires a witness to come to a trial or a hearing on a specific date to tell their part of the story.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law
The new term for supervised access is supervised parenting time for most family law cases. If you have a child protection case, the term supervised access may still be used.
Supervised parenting time is a kind of parenting time when someone else watches a parent’s visits with their child. This might be another relative like the child’s grandparent or uncle, or it might be someone from an agency like the Children’s Aid Society.
The purpose of supervised parenting time is usually to make sure the child is safe.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law
A supervised access exchange is when someone watches a parent pick up or drop off the child, but does not watch the access visit. Its purpose is usually to reduce conflict between the parents, or to protect one parent from being abused by the other parent.
In Family Law
Supervised parenting time is a kind of parenting time when someone else watches a parent’s visits with their child. This might be another relative like the child’s grandparent or uncle, or it might be someone from an agency like the Children’s Aid Society.
The purpose of supervised parenting time is usually to make sure the child is safe.
Supervised parenting time is sometimes called supervised access.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Child abuse and neglect, Family Law
A supervision order is when the court decides that your child can live with you, another parent, or a caregiver, but that the Children’s Aid Society has to regularly check that your child is being cared for.
A supervision order can last between 3 and 12 months. And it can include a number of conditions, such as you:
- get tested for drugs regularly
- go for counselling
- go to parenting classes
