Glossary

Access

A term previously used in Canada’s Divorce Act to describe the time a divorced parent without custody or a non-parent had with a child. The correct terms are “parenting time” (if the person is the child’s parent) or “contact” (if the person is not the child’s guardian). Learn more on the Being a parent or guardian page.

Adjourn

A suspension or postponement of a court appearance, either to a specific date or indefinitely.

Adultery

When a married person has a romantic or sexual relationship with someone other than their spouse.

Affirm

To promise something is true and binding on your conscience. It is a non-religious option. For example, to affirm an affidavit means to promise its contents are true.

Alimony

A commonly used term for payments from one spouse to another after a separation or divorce. In Canada, the correct term is “spousal support”. Learn more on the Rules about spousal and partner support page.

Applicant

The person who applies for a court order.

Application

A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues.

Assets

Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments.

Bankrupt

A legal process that frees an individual or business from its obligations to pay some or all of their debts, with certain conditions.

Beneficiary

A person who receives income or property from a trust. An example of a trust is a deceased person’s estate.

Business owner

A person who is self-employed, is a partner in a partnership, or owns 1% or more of a corporation.

Capacity

The ability to understand information for making a decision and the ability to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of making or not making the decision. Legal capacity is black or white – either a person is capable or is not capable.

Certificate of lis pendens

A certificate a person can register at the land titles office to announce there is a lawsuit pending against the owner of the property. It can prevent the owner from selling the property during the lawsuit, which could end with the property going to someone else or being used to pay a judgment.

Certificate of Title

A document from the Alberta Land Titles Office that says who the owners of a property are and others who have an interest in the property, such as a mortgage holder.

Chambers

Courtrooms that are open to the public with many people present where a justice can hear many cases and grant court orders. The people in a case have 20 minutes or less to speak with the justice and ask for a court order.

Civil enforcement agency

An agency with permission from the Government of Alberta to seize (take away) and sell a person’s property to pay someone they owe money to.

Civil laws

The laws that apply to disputes between individuals or businesses, such as about contracts, work, debts and more.

Cohabitation

When a couple co-habits (lives) together.

Commissioner for Oaths

A person appointed by the Government of Alberta to administer oaths, certify a document is a true copy of another and witness the signing of legal documents to be used in Alberta only. For example, a person can swear/affirm an affidavit before a Commissioner for Oaths that will be used in Alberta.

Common law

A term often used to describe an unmarried couple that lives together, with or without children. The correct term in Alberta is “adult interdependent relationship”. Learn more on the What is your marital status page.

Consummate the marriage

To have sexual intercourse for the first time after getting married.

Corollary relief

A term used in divorce proceedings to describe claims for child support, spousal support, parenting time and decision-making responsibility. The court will not grant a divorce until the parents have dealt with these issues.

Costs

Money the more successful party in a court proceeding can ask the justice to order the less successful party to pay. Costs reimburse the more successful party for having to go through the court process to get a resolution.

Court reporter

A person who writes down everything that is said during a legal process, like a questioning, court appearance or trial. They use a special machine to record spoken works and create a written transcript that justices, lawyers and others in the case can use. They can also administer oaths to witnesses.

Creditor

An individual or business owed money by a debtor.

Cross-application

The respondent’s own application to court in response to the plaintiff’s application.

Cruelty

Being mean or harmful on purpose, often causing pain, suffering or distress to others.

Custody

A term previously used in Canada’s Divorce Act to describe a parent’s time with and decision-making authority for a child. The correct terms are now “parenting time” and “decision-making responsibility”. Learn more on the Being a parent or guardian page.

Debtor

An individual or business that owes money to a creditor.

Debts

Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans.

Declaration of irreconcilability

A declaration from the court that says spouses or adult interdependent partners have no prospect of reconciling with each other. It is one way to prove a relationship is over.

Defendant

The person who responds to the plaintiff’s Statement of Claim.

Dependent children

Children under the age of 18 years or children 18 years or older who are not financially independent. An adult child may not be financially independent because they are studying full-time or have injuries, disabilities or medical conditions.

Desk application

Applying for a court order by submitting your documents at the courthouse for a justice to review on their own. You do not speak to the justice. The court contacts you once the justice grants your order, if they need more information or if the justice refuses to grant your order.

Disclosure order

A court order that orders one person to share their financial information with the other person for the purposes of calculating support or dividing property, or both.

Equity

The value of an asset minus any money owing on it. For example, a person’s equity in their house is the value of the house less the mortgage amount they still owe.

Ex parte

A court appearance where the applicant does not have to serve court documents or give notice about the court date beforehand to the respondent.

Exhibit

A document you refer to in and attach to your affidavit that helps you prove the truth of the statement you are making.

Foster home

A temporary place where a child can live when they can’t stay with their own families. In Alberta, foster homes are approved and regulated by the government.

Gross income

Income before taxes are deducted.

Hearsay

Something someone else told you.

Impute

To assign a value to something. For example, the court can impute an income to a person who is not sharing their financial information. In doing so, the court estimates the person’s income for the purpose of calculating support.

Independent legal advice

Advice that each person involved in a legal issue must get from their own lawyer. Usually the advice is about an agreement to resolve issues. Your lawyer will review the agreement with you to make sure you understand it. They will also let you know if the agreement is unfair or does not follow the law. The other person must see a different lawyer than you to get advice.

Joint tenants

A way to own property with others where each owner owns the whole property equally. If one owner dies, the surviving owners remain the owners through the right of survivorship.

Jurisdiction

The scope of government authority or power over certain subjects, usually within a geographical area. It also refers to the scope of authority or power of a court.

Justice

The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta.

Limitation period

The time a person has to start a lawsuit once the legal issue arises. In Alberta, the limitation period is usually two years but can be longer or shorter depending on the legal issue.

MEP

A free government service that collects court-ordered child support and spousal/partner support payments from the payor and distributes them to the recipient. MEP stands for Maintenance Enforcement Program.

Notarized copy

A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document.

Notary Public

A person appointed by the Government of Alberta to administer oaths, certify a document is a true copy of another and witness the signing of legal documents to be used anywhere in the world. For example, a person can swear/affirm an affidavit before a Notary Public that will be filed with a court in another province.

Note in default

Direction from the court to continue a court proceeding based on one party’s documents even though the other party has not responded to the proceeding. The party can ask the court to note the other party in default after proving they properly served the other party with the court documents.

Oath

A legal promise to tell the truth.

Occupational rent

Money paid by a person living in a property, such as one co-owner, to the owner of the property who does not live in the property, such as another co-owner.

Oral evidence

Evidence given by speaking under oath at a questioning, hearing or trial. Sometimes it is called oral testimony or viva voce (Latin for “word of mouth”) evidence.

Oral hearing

A court appearance where the court hears evidence from the parties under oath. The justice then decides which evidence is credible before making a decision.

Parties

The people involved in a court case.

Party

An individual or business involved in a court case.

Payor

A person who pays money to another person. For example, a person who pays child support to the other parent.

Personal property

Any property a person owns that is not real estate. Examples include vehicles, furniture, bank accounts and clothes.

Personal representative

The person named in a Will to carry out the deceased person’s wishes.

Plaintiff

The person who files a Statement of Claim with the court.

Post-nuptial agreement

An agreement signed by a married couple who plan to separate. It says how they will divide their property, who will pay support, and the parenting plan and decision-making authority for their children.

Proceeds

The money left from the sale of an asset after all the debts related to it are paid. For example, the proceeds from the sale of a house are the money left over after paying the mortgage owing, the realtor and the lawyer.

Process server

A person you pay to help you find and personally serve court documents on someone else.

Recipient

A person who receives money from another person. For example, a person who receives child support from the other parent.

Relationship of interdependence

This relationship exists where two people share one another’s lives, are emotionally committed to one another and share their home and finances.

Respondent

The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order.

Solicitor-client privilege

A rule that keeps the conversations between a client and their lawyer private. A lawyer cannot share things their client tells them unless they have their client’s permission or the law requires them to share the information.

Special Chambers

Courtrooms that are open to the public where the people in a case have more than 20 minutes to talk to the justice. Special Chambers is not the same as a trial because the justice can grant an interim order to move the case along, not make a final decision.

Spousal/partner support

On this website, referring to both spousal support and partner support.

Swear

To promise something is true before God. For example, to swear an affidavit means to promise before God that its contents are true.

Tenants in common

A way to own property with others where each owner owns a share of the property. The shares of each owner do not have to be equal. For real estate, the Certificate of Title must say what share each owner owns.

Trial

A court appearance that resolves all outstanding legal issues in a court cases. A trial includes hearing oral evidence from witnesses and can take several days depending on the issues to be resolved.

Undertaking

A promise a lawyer makes to do something.

Undue hardship

A legal argument someone can use to reduce the amount of support they owe. The person must prove they would suffer unfair financial hardship if they had to pay the amount of support required by law.

Unjust enrichment

A claim under property law principles that a person makes to protect property rightfully owed to them. To prove unjust enrichment, you must prove: 1. One person received an enrichment (benefit). 2. You suffered a loss or spent money on the property. 3. There is no legal reason for the enrichment (for example, it wasn’t a gift).

Will

A legal statement of how a person wants their estate to be dealt with after their death.

Without notice

A court appearance where the applicant does not have to serve court documents or give notice about the court date beforehand to the respondent.

Writ of Enforcement

A court form a creditor files with the court to allow them to take steps to enforce a judgment order against a debtor.