Glossary
In Abuse and Family Violence, Elder abuse, Debt and Consumer Rights
Frauds and scams are crimes where people lie, cheat, use someone else’s personal information, or break the law to get money or something for themselves.
Common examples are identity theft, credit card fraud, email and online fraud, and phone and door-to-door sales scams.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Child abuse and neglect, Family Law
Independent legal advice (ILA) is when you get your own legal advice from a lawyer. The advice is independent because your lawyer is only working for you. A different lawyer works for the other parent or any other party.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Criminal Law
An intimate image or video is one that was taken in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy, and shows the person:
- naked,
- exposing their genital region, buttocks, or breasts, or
- engaged in explicit sexual activity.
It is a criminal offence to publish, distribute, share, or sell intimate images of someone without their consent. In order to be found guilty of this offence, the person in the image must continue to have a reasonable expectation of privacy at the time you commit the offence.
In Child abuse and neglect, Domestic violence, Family Law
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process where people who do not agree on something meet with someone called a mediator. The mediator is a neutral person trained to help people agree on their issues without taking sides.
The mediator’s goal is to help them find a solution that they agree on. A mediator does not make decisions or force anyone to agree to anything.
A mediator is sometimes also called a facilitator.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Abuse of people with disabilities, Elder abuse, Health and Disability, Wills and Powers of Attorney, Wills, Power of Attorney for Personal Care, Power of Attorney for Property
Being mentally capable means being able to make decisions for yourself about things like your:
- personal care, such as bathing and getting dressed
- health care and medical treatment
- property
A person needs to be mentally capable to make:
The rules about being mentally capable are different depending on the kind of decision or the kind of legal document they want to make.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Abuse of people with disabilities, Elder abuse, Health and Disability, Elder abuse, Wills and Powers of Attorney, Wills, Power of Attorney for Personal Care, Power of Attorney for Property
Being mentally capable to make decisions depends on whether the decision is about:
- personal care, such as bathing and getting dressed
- health care and medical treatment
- property and finances
Mental capacity also depends on the type of document you want to prepare, for example:
In Child abuse and neglect, Domestic violence, Family Law
Minutes of Settlement is a document that describes how parties have decided to resolve their issues. For example, you can sign minutes of settlement with your partner or a Children’s Aid Society. It can be used to get a court order, called a consent order, that says what the parties have agreed to.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law
A non-removal order is an order a court makes to prevent one or both parents from taking their child out of a specified area, for example, the country or province.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law
The Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) is the government-funded office that represents children under the age of 18 in some court cases.
The OCL is not automatically involved in court cases dealing with decision-making responsibility and parenting time, which used to be called custody and access. They have to agree to accept your case.
The OCL has clinicians and lawyers across Ontario. OCL clinicians, who are usually social workers, prepare reports about a child’s needs, views, and wishes. OCL lawyers represent children in court.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Elder abuse, Health and Disability
The term “older adult” is usually used to describe someone who’s over the age of 65. But there’s no set age for when someone is considered an older adult. Some people prefer to use the term “senior”.
We use older adult to refer to someone who may be affected by elder abuse, even if they’re younger than 65.