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Interjurisdictional Support Orders

Glossary

Age of Majority

The age when a person legally becomes an adult. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the age of majority is 19. Other provinces, territories and countries may have a different age of majority.

Provinces where the age of majority is 18:

  • Alberta
  • Manitoba
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan

Provinces and territories where the age of majority is 19:

  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Yukon
Applicant or Claimant
The person applying for an order.
Arrears
Maintenance or support that has not been paid.
Certified Copy
A copy made by the court from the original order signed by the judge. The court copy has a stamp on it saying it is certified by the court and includes an original signature from a court official.
Child Support Guidelines
Set of rules and table used to calculate the amount of child support that one parent must pay to the other parent after separation or divorce. There are federal guidelines, and one for each of the Canadian provinces and territories. Many foreign countries also have their own guidelines.
Designated Authority
The body or office in a Canadian province or territory that is responsible for receiving and sending support interjurisdictional applications and orders under the provincial ISO law and the Divorce Act. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the Support Enforcement Program (SEP) office carries out these functions.
Designated Jurisdiction
Under the Divorce Act, this is a country outside of Canada that has a reciprocal arrangement with a Canadian province or territory to get, change or recognize support orders. These countries are listed in the regulation under the provincial ISO law in the province or territory where the respondent lives.

Countries that are designated jurisdictions with Newfoundland and Labrador can be found in the ISO Regulation. (These countries are also listed on the home page under ’reciprocating jurisdictions’.)
Reciprocating Jurisdiction
Under provincial ISO law, this is a province, territory or country with which Newfoundland and Labrador has a reciprocal arrangement to recognize child and spousal support orders and agreements made in each other’s place. An order or written agreement made in one place can be enforced in the other.
Respondent
The person responding to an application.
Special or Extraordinary Expenses (also called Section 7 expenses)
Additional payments to the base child support amount that are for expenses, such as a child’s education, medical, dental, childcare or extracurricular activities.
Support (also called maintenance)
Child support is money that a parent (the person who does not have primary custody/parenting time for the child) pays to the other parent to support a child. Spousal support is money that a spouse pays to a former spouse for financial support.
Support Order
A court order requiring the payment of child and/or spousal support by one parent or former spouse to another.
Written Agreement
An agreement stating child and/or spousal support payments that one party must pay to the other, which is signed by both parties and filed in court.