Divorce jargon buster
Ancillary relief
These are the financial orders that a court can make in a divorce: regular maintenance, a lump sum, or a transfer of property.
Co-respondent
The 'other' man or woman, if the petition is based on adultery. Rarely named these days.
Conditional order
For a couple ending a civil partnership, the first stage of the divorce is called the conditional order. You are not finally divorced by this.
Decree absolute
For a married couple, this is the final stage of divorce. At this point you stop, legally, being husband and wife.
Decree nisi
For a married couple, this is the first stage of the divorce. You are not finally divorced by this.
Dissolution order
For a couple ending a civil partnership, this is the final stage of divorce. At this point you stop, legally, being civil partners.
Petition
The formal document that tells the court why you want a divorce.
Petitioner
The person who starts the divorce proceedings by filing a petition.
Respondent
The partner who is not the petitioner. The petition is served on them.
Service
Formal delivery of court documents – this can be by post.
Special procedure
Confusingly this is now the normal procedure – the way that the divorce takes place on paper without there being a need for court hearings. It is also sometimes referred to as a ‘quickie divorce’, even though all undefended divorces now take about the same length of time.
Without prejudice
If a document or a conversation is described as being ‘without prejudice’ it means that it can’t be quoted in court, or shown to a judge. You use the term so that you can explore options in negotiations without being bound to them until everything is agreed.
