Understanding legal jargon in family law can often feel like deciphering a foreign language. At ACCA, we’re dedicated to making the law more accessible and transparent for everyone. We’ve compiled a comprehensive glossary of legal terms commonly used in private law to demystify the complex language often encountered in legal documents and discussions.
Our glossary provides clear definitions and explanations, empowering you to take control and navigate legal processes with confidence and clarity.
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Check our Jargon Busting guide now to unlock the secrets of family law legal terminology and ensure you’re equipped with the knowledge you need to navigate the complexities of the legal world.
Glossary
Adjournment: A family law court‘s decision to reschedule a hearing to a later date because additional time or preparation is needed.
Adoption Order: A family law court order transferring parental responsibility from birth parents to adoptive parents, legally establishing the child as part of a new family.
Area Quality Review (AQR): An evaluation of how effectively a local area is functioning involving senior staff. Findings from AQRs help shape action and development plans.
Application: A formal request made to the family law court for assistance.
Barrister: A legal professional who advises and represents individuals in family court hearings.
C100 Form: A document used to apply for a contact or child arrangements order in the family law court.
Cafcass Worker: A practitioner who may be referred to as a family law court adviser or children’s guardian, depending on the court’s orders.
Care Order: A family court order granting a local authority responsibility for a child’s care when they are not adequately looked after.
Care and Supervision (Section 31) Application Duration: The average time taken to complete Section 31 care and supervision applications, measured in calendar weeks from application receipt to completion.
Case Management Conference: A hearing to discuss significant issues and outline the process for a child’s case in family court.
Child Contact Intervention (CCI): Short-term supervised contact interventions to help establish safe and beneficial contact between adults and children.
Child Contact Centre: This is a safe location for children to meet with a non-resident parent, facilitating contact.
Child Arrangements Order: A family law court decision outlining where a child will live and who they will see when parents cannot agree.
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass): An organisation that supports children and families, providing the family court with advice on children’s best interests.
Children’s Guardian: An independent person appointed by the family court to represent the best interests of a child, often involving a solicitor for legal representation.
Child’s Record Audit: Internal reviews conducted by Cafcass managers to ensure consistency and best practices.
Consent Order: A court order reflecting an agreement reached by all parties in a child’s case.
Direct Contact: Face-to-face time between a child and someone they do not live with.
Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (DAPP): A course designed to help individuals who have been abusive towards their partners change their behaviour and develop non-abusive relationships.
Early Intervention Teams (EIT): These teams perform safeguarding checks and provide information for safeguarding letters at the first hearing.
Family Assistance Order: A short-term (usually six months) family court order for support from a Cafcass worker or local authority social worker, with family agreement.
Family Court: A court where decisions about children and families are made by judges or magistrates when agreements cannot be reached privately.
Family Court Adviser (FCA): A Cafcass worker who meets with children to discuss their wishes and feelings and provides recommendations to the family law court.
Family Group Conference: A meeting of essential people in a child’s life to ensure their safety and well-being.
Final Order: The last order made by the family court, which all named parties must follow.
Foster Carer: Individuals who provide a safe home for children in need, often living with other children, whether biological or fost
Guardian’s Report: A report written by a child’s guardian to aid the family court in making child welfare decisions.
Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO): An official ensuring that decisions made for children in local authority care meet their needs and consider their wishes and feelings.
Indirect Contact: Non-face-to-face communication such as letters, cards, or gifts between a child and a non-resident parent, deemed safe and beneficial by the court.
Interim Care Order: A temporary order where the local authority makes decisions for a child pending a final family court decision.
Issues Resolution Hearing (IRH): A hearing to identify and resolve critical issues in a family court case.
Judge: A family court legal official who decides what is best for children and young people when families cannot agree.
Level 1 Check: This is a police criminal record check conducted by authorised bodies with access to the Police National Computer (PNC).
Legal Adviser: A legal professional assisting magistrates in applying the law without participating in decision-making.
Litigants in Person: Individuals representing themselves in court without legal representation.
Local AuthoriChildren’sen’s Social Care/Social Services): The organisation responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of children and young people in their area.
Magistrate: A community member who volunteers to make decisions in family court and is advised by a legal adviser, like a judge, but without legal qualifications.
Mediation: A process where a neutral mediator helps people in a dispute reach an agreement without going to court.
Non-Molestation Order: A court order protecting individuals from abuse by restricting the abuser’s actions.
Parental Order: A court order transferring legal parenthood from a surrogate to the intended parents.
Parental Responsibility: The rights, duties, and responsibilities a parent has towards their child, including decisions about their upbringing.
Placement Order: A court order allowing the local authority to place a child with adoptive parents during care proceedings.
Pre-Proceedings: Work done by the local authority, sometimes involving Cafcass, before deciding to make a care application.
Private Law: Family court cases initiated by private individuals, typically involving divorce or separation issues.
Prohibited Steps Order: A court order preventing a parent from taking specific actions, such as moving abroad with the child.
Public Law: Family court cases brought by local authorities concerning the welfare and safety of children and young people.
Relinquished Babies and Children: Children whose parents consider adoption as the best option for their future.
Rule 16.4 Cases: These are complex family court cases in which the child is made a party to the proceedings and a Cafcass guardian is appointed.
Safeguarding Letter: A letter from a Cafcass worker to the family court outlining any safety concerns for the child.
Section 37 Report: A report ordered by the family court to ensurchild’sld’s safety, usually involving a socworker’ser’s home visit.
Section 7 Report: A report ordered by the family court requiring Cafcass or the local authority to investigate family circumstances and the child’s wishes and feelings.
Section 16A Risk Assessment: An assessment conducted by Cafcass officers when there is suspicion that a child is at risk of harm.
Separated Parents Information Programme (SPIP): A course helping parents prioritise thchild’sld’s needs during separation.
Social Worker: Trained professionals ensuring children’s safety and proper care, working with families to keep children safe at home or finding alternative safe living arrangements.
Solicitor: A legal professional who advises and represents individuals in family court.
Special Guardianship Order: A court order allowing another person to take on parental responsibility for a child who cannot live with their birth parents.
Specific Issue Order: A court order resolving a particular dispute between parents, such as decisions about schooling.
Supervised Contact: Direct contact between a child and another person, monitored by a supervisor to ensure safety.
Supervision Order: This requires the local authority to support and ensure children’s safety while in their parents’ care.
Supported Contact: A child contact centre worker facilitates direct contact and supports parents in meeting the children’s needs.
This glossary provides clear definitions and explanations of common legal terms in private law. If you have further questions or need assistance, please get in touch with us at ACCA. We’re here to help!
