Family Law Flashcards
Requirements for a valid marriage
- Capacity: Legal ability to consent (age, mental capacity).
- Formalities: Compliance with statutory requirements (license, ceremony).
- Intent: Mutual intent to enter into a marriage relationship.
Common Law marriage (elements)
Agreement to be married, cohabitation, and holding out as a married couple.
Recognition: Not all states recognize common law marriages; those that do require certain elements to be met.
Void marriages
Void Marriages: Marriages that are invalid from the beginning (e.g., bigamy, incest)
Voidable Marriages
Marriages that can be annulled due to certain conditions (e.g., fraud, duress, lack of capacity).
Grounds for divorce
- No-Fault Divorce: Irreconcilable differences or irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
- Fault-Based Divorce: Adultery, cruelty, desertion, substance abuse, etc.
Annulment
Grounds: Lack of capacity, fraud, duress, bigamy, incest, non-age.
Effects: Marriage is declared void, as if it never existed.
Equitable distribution (property division)
Marital Property: Assets acquired during the marriage.
Separate Property: Assets acquired before the marriage or by gift/inheritance.
Factors Considered: Length of marriage, contributions to marital estate, economic circumstances, etc.
Community property
Equal Division: Generally, each spouse is entitled to half of the marital property.
Community vs. Separate Property
Assets acquired during the marriage are community property, while those acquired before marriage or by gift/inheritance are separate
Temporary (pendente lite) (spousal support)
Type of alimony
support during the divorce proceedings
Rehabilitative (spousal support)
type of alimony
Support to enable the recipient to become self-supporting.
Permanent (spousal support)
Type of Alimony
Support until the recipient dies or remarries
Reimbursement (spousal support)
type of alimony
Compensation for financial contributions to the payer’s education or career.
Whats considered when trying to figure out the alimony situation?
Length of the marriage, standard of living, age and health of both parties, earning capacities, contributions to the marriage, etc.
Legal Custody
Child custody
Right to make major decisions about the child’s life (education, healthcare, etc.).
Physical Custody
Child custody
Where the child lives and daily care.
Joint custody
child custody
Shared legal and/or physical custody.
Enforcing child support (if youre fucking up and not paying)
Wage garnishment, interception of tax refunds, contempt of court, and other measures.
Protection orders
domestic violence
Temporary restraining orders (TRO) and permanent protection orders.
Relief available, including exclusion from the home, no contact orders, custody, and support.
enforcement of protection orders
domestic violence
Violation of protection orders can result in criminal penalties and contempt of court.
