The technical term for when a country applies its own local law.

Regular payments made by a non-resident parent to the person or parent with care of the child to meet the day-to-day living expenses of a child following marriage, or relationship breakdown. Child maintenance payments can be agreed between the parents.

The country in which legal proceedings will proceed. A party needs a certain connection with a country before that country can deal with the case. This may be based on habitual residence, nationality, domicile, an agreement or other factors.

On divorce, nullity or judicial separation, the court can make an order that one party pay the other a lump sum or that one party pay the other a lump sum for the benefit of a child or children of the family.

An application for the legal dissolution of a marriage.

The offence of marrying while already being married to someone else.

A person named in a divorce because he has committed adultery with the defendant to the divorce. It is unusual to name the co-respondent and is considered aggressive and unnecessary.

A child of the marriage is any child of the husband and wife, including any adopted child and any other child (whether or not a child of the husband or of the wife) who was a member of the family of the husband and wife at the time they ceased to live together or at […]

In the context of family law, refers to the party in the proceedings who is defending to the Divorce application. The term can be used specifically (referring to the Defendant to the divorce proceedings) or more generally when the reference is to the party responding to an application made by another, the Plaintiff.