Glossary

This is an individual who presides over simple court cases in their community. They are also referred to as justices of the peace. They are not legally trained, are volunteers, work part time and are unpaid. They can claim expenses. In court they will have a legal adviser present who will guide them on points of law. Magistrates sit in a group of three. The middle magistrate is known as the presiding justice and has been trained to be the chair. The outer two magistrates on either side of the presiding justice are called the wingers.

Once the court process for the division of your marital assets, finances and pensions has started, the financially weaker spouse in the divorce can make an application to the family court for a maintenance pending suit. A maintenance pending suit order is when the court orders the financially stronger party to provide for the financial needs of the other party during separation and during the divorce proceedings. This must be paid until the court says otherwise. Another name for maintenance pending suit is interim maintenance. The court can backdate the maintenance pending suit from the day the divorce application was filed. There is no tax payable on these payments. These payments also do not affect working tax credits, but can affect income support, housing, and council tax benefit.

This is another name for a freezing order.

This court order is similar to a mesher order, except there is an indefinite postponement of the sale of the marital home. The ex-partner who will remain in the marital home can usually live there until their death or some other trigger point mentioned in the mesher court order.

This act passed by parliament governs divorce and marriage in England and Wales.

The residence where the married couple are living together or have lived together during the marriage.

The right of a spouse to live in the marital home even though the other spouse owns the home outright. An application can be made to the Land Registry to prevent the spouse who owns the the marital home from selling or transferring it.

A McKenzie friend is an individual who can attend a court hearing with a litigant in person - a person who is involved in court proceedings and is not represented by a solicitor or barrister. Permission is required by the judge presiding over the hearing.

The process where a trained individual or group of individuals will help a separating or divorcing couple reach agreements and decisions about child arrangements and the division of marital assets, finances and pensions. The mediator(s) is independent and impartial. It is the law in the UK that all divorcing couples must attend mediation first to sort out matters and only if mediation fails can they start the court process of sorting out these matters. There are exceptions where couples are not required to attend mediation first and can come straight to the courts such as domestic violence.

This refers to the worthiness or quality of a case to bring it to court to be heard.

A mesher court order is an order where it is not in the best interest of the family, especially the children, to sell or transfer the marital home, therefore, it can be ordered to be sold or transferred at a later date. A mesher court order is also known as an order for a deferred sale. The marital home will remain in joint names until the time for the sale or transfer. This is usually called the trigger point. A trigger point could be when the children reach adulthood or when the children leave home. If the trigger point is death or remarriage of the ex-partner who remains in the property, then this court order is called a martin order. A mesher court order, in some instances, allows the court to ensure both ex-partners and the children have their housing needs met. A mesher order can provide stability for the children by allowing them to stay in the home and reduce stress for the family by not selling the marital home at the same time as the divorce proceedings are in progress. The marital home could also go up in value during the time it remains as the family home, which is advantageous to the whole family. However, a mesher order will mean that both ex-partners cannot sever ties permanently and capital (money) will be tied up in the marital home for some time, maybe years. This may be a temporary fix for the family as the issues of adequate housing for both ex-partners may arise again when the marital home is sold. Another factor that needs to be taken into account is the capital gains tax that the non-occupying ex-partner will have to pay when the marital home is eventually sold.

A MIAM is a mediation information and assessment meeting. UK law specifies that all divorcing couples must attend mediation first to agree child arrangements and financial settlement. Only if this fails or you are exempt can you ask the courts o intervene. A MIAM is the introductory meeting where you will meet your mediator and they will inform you how mediation works and the rules, They will also ask you what you hope to achieve.

This is a court order made in a foreign court outside of the UK that is the same as the court order made in the UK court. This mirror court order will allow the enforcement of the court order made in the UK court outside of the UK, because the UK court order is not enforceable outside of the UK.

This word refers to the incident when a judge makes the wrong decision, gives the wrong direction or directs a jury wrongly.