- Adoption: the adoption in England is always a complete adoption that cuts all ties with the birth family. In France there are two ways to adopt: the simple adoption and the full adoption. In the simple adoption the adoptee retains his links with the birth family.
- CAFCASS: Children And Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Non-departmental public body set up to promote the welfare of the children and families involved in family court. Cafcass is often required by the Courts to provide reports in children matters.
- Conditional Divorce (former decree nisi). First order in respect of the divorce suit. You are still married if you have reached the stage of Conditional Divorce.
- Final Divorce (former decree absolute). Second and last order in respect of the divorce suit. This ends the marriage. Divorce affects inheritance under a will.
- Domicile: in England this is a very strong concept. This very different from evidence of your French domicile/address. An English domicile is your deeper connexion with one country. Each person has a domicile of origin or a domicile of birth (nationality of your father) or a domicile of choice. French nationals can live for 20 years in England without losing their French domicile as they believe that France is their home country and the one in which they will retire one day.
- Exequatur: recognition of an order in a foreign country. It France this is a long process (generally one year) to recognise and enforce in France, an order made in England.
- Joint tenancy: when the property is held jointly by the parties together. They own 100% of the property.
- Tenancy in common: when each party owns a share in a property. It can be 50% if there is so specification or a different percentage of ownership if there is a Declaration of trust that indicates the percentages.
- Maintenance: periodical payments. This is the equivalent of French « pension alimentaire ».
- Mesher order: where the property remains held in joint names as tenants in common with a declaration of trust as to specific shares. Both parties remain legally liable for the mortgage, although there may be an order that only the person living there pays it on a monthly basis.
- Parental order: court order which transfers legal parentage from the surrogate mother (and her spouse/civil partner) to the person or persons who are going to bring up the child. The order extinguishes the rights of the surrogate mother.
- Parental responsibility: all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property.
- Penal notice: notice added to the front of an order warning that if the person against whom the order is made does not comply with the order, the person may be held in contempt of court and punished by a fine or imprisonment. There is no equivalent in France.
- Pension: retirement plan that can be shared upon divorce. This is different from the French term « pension » which means maintenance in England.
- Pre-nuptial agreement: Marital contract signed before the marriage.
- Post-nuptial agreement: Marital agreement signed at any point of time during the marital life
- Surrogacy: process by which a woman called a surrogate carries and delivers a baby for someone else, the intention being that after the birth the child’s parental responsibility will be met by that other person.
- Without Prejudice (WP) : confidential financial offers sent in financial remedies applications.