Family Law Vocab

Question 1

The practice or condition of being married to more than one person at a time

Answer 1

Bigamy

Question 2

A domestic contract between two unmarried people who are living together; concerning property and obligations to each other

Answer 2

Cohabitation agreement

Question 3

A cohabitation agreement, marriage contract, or separation agreement; made between two partners in a relationship and concerning property and obligations to each other

Answer 3

Domestic contract

Question 4

Conditions that must be met for a marriage to be valid (e.g., legal capacity, genuine consent); under federal jurisdiction

Answer 4

Essential requirements for marriage

Question 5

Legal condition for preforming marriage ceremonies; under provincial and territorial jurisdiction

Answer 5

Formal requirements for marriage

Question 6

Inability of one or both spouses to have sexual intercourse; a ground for annulment

Answer 6

Impotence

Question 7

The voluntary union of 2 consenting adults to the exclusion of all

Answer 7

Marriage

Question 8

A legal agreement between partners who are married or plan to get married; concerning property and obligations to each other

Answer 8

Marriage contract

Question 9

The various steps and preliminaries, including the ceremony, leading to marriage; authority over which was granted to the provinces

Answer 9

Solemnization of marriage

Question 10

The process of gaining the legal rights of a parent to a child and raising the child as one of its own

Answer 10

Adoption

Question 11

An adopted child’s natural, or biological mother and father

Answer 11

Birth parents

Question 12

A mother, a father and their children born before and after the formation of the family unit especially children of previous marriages

Answer 12

Blended family

Question 13

a court order permanently granted legal custody and guardianship of a child to the crown, represented by a child protection agency (e.g. the children’s age society)

Answer 13

crown wardship

Question 14

a family group consisting of parent(s) , the children, and other close relatives (e.g. grandparents)

Answer 14

extended family

Question 15

sexual intercourse with a person knowing that he or she is a close, blood, relative (e.g., grandchild, brother, half-sister)

Answer 15

incest

Question 16

goods and services needed to ensure a persons health and welfare (e.g., food, clothing, shelter)

Answer 16

necessaries

Question 17

a mother, a father and their children

Answer 17

Nuclear Family

Question 18

within adoption the process of matching a child and adoptive parent(s), then monitoring the family

Answer 18

Placement

Question 19

the creation of ones offspring

Answer 19

procreation

Question 20

a court order temporarily granting legal custody and guardianship of a child to a child protection agency (e.g., the children’s aid society)

Answer 20

society wardship

Question 21

a ruling that a relationship never was a marriage; declared in a decree of nullity

Answer 21

annulment

Question 22

in a divorce proceeding based on the respondents adultery, the person with whom he/she committed adultery

Answer 22

co-respondent

Question 23

legal ending of marriage

Answer 23

divorce

Question 24

property owned by one or both spouses and ordinarily used and enjoyed for family purposes by the spouses and/or any children’s; normally divided equally between separating spouses; as opposed to non-family or business assets

Answer 24

family asset

Question 25

an alternative dispute resolution process applied to issues within families; involving a neutral third party trying to get opposing parties to agree on issues (e.g., custody of children)

Answer 25

family mediation