NCA Family Law flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Common-law partnership

A conjugal relationship of some permanence; most provinces require continuous cohabitation for two years, or one year with a child, to trigger statutory rights.

Void marriage

A marriage that is invalid from the beginning because a legal requirement was never met, such as a prior subsisting marriage or prohibited consanguinity.

Voidable marriage

A marriage that is valid until annulled by a court, typically for duress, fraud, impotence, or lack of consummation.

One-year separation ground

The most common divorce ground; spouses must live separate and apart for at least one year, and brief reconciliation periods of 90 days or less do not restart the clock.

Net family property

Ontario's equalization measure: value of all property on the valuation date minus debts, minus the value of property at marriage, minus excluded property.

Matrimonial home special treatment

In several provinces, the matrimonial home is fully included in the property calculation and cannot be excluded even if owned before marriage or received as a gift.

Partnership of acquests

Quebec's default matrimonial regime, under which property acquired during marriage is shared while property owned at marriage and inheritances remain private.

Equalization payment

Half the difference between the spouses' net family property values; a negative net family property is treated as zero.

Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines

Advisory formulas providing ranges for amount and duration of spousal support based on income, length of marriage, and presence of dependent children.

Compensatory support

Support intended to compensate a spouse for economic disadvantage arising from the relationship, such as career sacrifice or lost earning capacity.

SSAG ceiling

The income threshold above which the advisory formulas are applied with discretion; the current ceiling is $350,000 in payor income.

Section 7 expenses

Special or extraordinary child expenses such as childcare, medical costs, and extracurricular activities, shared in proportion to parental incomes if necessary and reasonable.

Imputed income

Income attributed to a parent who is intentionally underemployed, fails to disclose income, or has non-cash benefits not reflected in line 150.

Shared parenting

An arrangement where a child spends at least 40% of the time with each parent; child support is then determined under section 9 of the Guidelines.

Table amount

The presumptive child support figure from the Federal Child Support Guidelines, based on payor income, number of children, and province of residence.

Decision-making responsibility

The 2019 Divorce Act term replacing custody; it refers to the authority to make significant decisions about a child's health, education, and welfare.

Parenting time

The 2019 Divorce Act term replacing access; it refers to the time a child spends with a parent, including overnight and holiday schedules.

Best interests of the child

The only consideration in parenting decisions under the Divorce Act, assessed through factors such as the child's needs, views, relationships, and family violence.

Relocation notice

A requirement under section 16.9 of the Divorce Act that a parent intending to move give written notice to the other parent, who may object and seek a court order.

Duty to report

A statutory obligation, often on professionals and sometimes on all persons, to report reasonable grounds to suspect a child is in need of protection.

Crown wardship

A permanent child protection order transferring guardianship to the state, typically where the child cannot be returned home within the statutory timeline.

Least intrusive disposition

The child protection principle that a court should choose the least restrictive order consistent with the child's safety and best interests.

Restraining order

A court order prohibiting a person from contacting or approaching another person or a child where there are reasonable grounds to fear harm.

Emergency protection order

An expedited order, often granted without notice, that may include no-contact terms and exclusive occupation of the family home to protect a person from family violence.

Peace bond

A Criminal Code order under section 810 requiring a person to keep the peace and be of good behaviour; breach is a criminal offence.

Domestic contract

A written, signed, and witnessed agreement between spouses or partners addressing property, support, or other family law matters.

Setting aside a contract

A court remedy where a domestic contract is unenforceable because of non-disclosure, duress, undue influence, fraud, or unconscionability.

Child support cannot be contracted out

A domestic contract cannot preclude a child's right to support; a court may disregard a child support provision that is not in the child's best interests.

Ordinary residence jurisdiction

The Divorce Act rule allowing a court to grant divorce if either spouse has been ordinarily resident in the province for one year before the proceeding.

Forum non conveniens

A doctrine allowing a court to decline jurisdiction where another forum is clearly more appropriate to hear the case.

Hague Child Abduction Convention

An international treaty requiring the prompt return of a child wrongfully removed from or retained outside the child's habitual residence.

Financial disclosure

The mandatory exchange of income, tax, and property documents in family proceedings; failure may lead to costs, contempt, or an adverse inference.