Family Law

Question 1

Common Law Marriage

Answer 1

(i.e., cohabitation agreement): (1) capacity; (2) agreement; (3) cohabitation; (4) holding out marital relationship (e.g., common last name, joint bank account, telling others married)

Question 2

Recognition of Marriage

Answer 2

marriage valid in the state where entered (incl. CL marriages) valid elsewhere unless violate public policy (e.g., bigamy will invalidate marriage, but most recent marriage is prioritized and considered valid if the other marriages are ended)

Question 3

Spousal Support (Purpose)

Answer 3

Need to determine is spouse’s economic dependency resulted from the marital relationship and whether the spouse has the ability to be self sustaining.

The purpose of spousal support is to ensure an adequate income stream for a spouse whose economic dependency resulted from the marital relationship

Question 4

Spousal Support (Court Considerations)

Answer 4

(1) standard of living
(2) duration of marriage
(3) age and physical / emotional conditions of both parties
(4) financial resources
(5) contribution of each party to the marriage
(6) time needed to obtain education / training to to enable either party to find appropriate employment
(7) ability of payor spouse to meet his needs while paying spousal support

Question 5

Child Support

Answer 5

Child support is generally based on the child’s monetary need and the obligor’s ability to pay.
Most states have guidelines that dictate a formula to calculate child suppoort based on (1) age, (2), number of childres, (3) special needs and (4) parents income