Family Law Flashcards
Rights before marriage include
(1) Breach of promise to marry (rare today)
(2) Gifts in contemplation of marriage
(3) Antenuptial agreements
Gifts made conditioned on the subsequent marriage are
null if the marriage fails to take place, consider the type of property given, the conditions attached, the intent of the donor.
With regard to antenuptial agreements, many states have adopted the
Uniform Premarital Agreements Act (UPAA)
Under antenuptial agreements, parties can agree to d
(1) disposition of property at divorce
(2) alimony
**Courts are NOT bound by provision in the agreement regarding children.
A waiver of alimony in a prenup will be upheld unless
doing so will cause the disadvantaged spouse to become a public charge.
For an antenuptial agreement to be valid, it must
(1) be in writing and signed
(2) entered into voluntarily
(3) have full disclosure of assets OR proof that the party had independent knowledge
Under UPAA, before looking at whether there was a full disclosure of assets or independent knowledge in an ante nuptial agreement, the court must first find that the agreement was
unconscionable.
When analyzing ante nuptial agreements, some courts look at
(1) general fairness
(2) whether the parties had independent counsel
The law that applies to ante nuptial agreements is
(1) the parties choice of law in the agreement, if present
(2) the law of the state w/ the most significant relationship to the parties
(3) the law where the agreement was executed
The requirements of marriage are
(1) a license
(2) a ceremony with an authorized officiant
(3) no legal impediments to the marriage
(4) the capacity to consent
In order to get a marriage license, some states require
(1) a medical certificate showing no disease
(2) most states provide a 72 hour waiting period after the application before the ceremony can take place
**Failure to follow procedural requirements will NOT invalidate the marriage (void vs. voidable)
Legal impediments to marriage include
(1) related-ness, like ascendants, descendants, siblings, etc.
(2) relatedness by marriage, step-relations, adoptions (many states)
(3) marriage between first cousins is permitted in some states
(4) you can’t be married to someone else
(5) Can’t be of the same gender in many states
In order to have the capacity to consent to marriage, you must have
the mental ability to consent at the time of the ceremony
The age requirements for marriage are
(1) generally 18 to marry freely of own will
(2) parental consent required between 16 and 17
(3) judicial consent required if under 16 (usually pregnancy related reasons)
The three requirements for a valid common law marriage are
(1) consent to marriage (capacity and impediment requirements must be met)
(2) Cohabitation
(3) Holding yourself out publicly as husband and wife
**States that do NOT permit common law marriage will regard a common law marriage as valid if entered into in a state that permits common law marriage
Marriage by estoppel and putative marriage apply when
(1) equitable remedy that may be given by some courts to the innocent party who acted in good faith when entering an invalid marriage
(2) in some states, the putative spouse can acquire all the rights of a legal spouse
If spouses take title to property in joint names,
a tenancy by the entireties is presumed.
Under the doctrine of support, spouses owe
support to one another.
The doctrine of necessaries allows a creditor
to make one spouse liable for the other spouse’s purchases of necessary expenses (food, clothing, health care)
A protective order can be
granted against the other spouse, ex parte (w/o notice to the other spouse) and last for between one month to several years depending on the jurisdiction.
The two causes of action for tortious interference with marriage are
(1) alienation of affection
(2) criminal conversation
**These causes of action have mostly been abolished.
Alienation of affection requires
(1) genuine love and affection
(2) love and affection was alienated and destroyed
(3) D’s acts caused the loss of love and affection
**Note: the love and affection must have been present BEFORE D acted. Proof of damage is required and highly subjective. Punitives are available in some states.
Criminal conversation requires P to prove that
(1) the spouses were married
(2) adultery between the D and the spouse during the marriage
Damages are the same as for alienation of affection
Annulment is
a declaration that a marriage is invalid.
The two types of marriages subject to annulment are
(1) void; and
(2) voidable
A “void” marriage is one that
fails to meet an essential requirement and is invalid (e.g. too closely related, bigamy)
A “void” marriage can be attacked by
(1) one of the parties; or
(2) a third party, like the IRS
A “void” marriage may be remedied by
continued habitation after removal of the impediment under the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act and in some states (e.g. after the death of a prior spouse, void marriage can be validated by continued habitation)
A “voidable” marriage is one where an
event or condition affecting the adequacy of consent is present (e.g. drunk, incurable physical impotence, duress, fraud, lack of capacity, etc.)
A “voidable” marriage can be attacked
only by one of the parties and is treated as valid until annulled (the reverse of a “void” marriage)
A “voidable” marriage may be ratified by
continued cohabitation after removal of the infirmity (i.e. too drunk at a wedding to have capacity, but continue to cohabitate)
The effects of annulment are
(1) the marriage is set aside as if it never existed
(2) children remain legitimate
(3) child support can be awarded
(4) spousal support may be awarded, but not in all states
(5) property generally treated as if never married, put spouses in “premarital” state
Jurisdiction over the PARTIES in a divorce proceeding is proper where
(1) one of the spouses is domiciled in the state
(2) if the spouse is a resident state for some minimum period (generally 90 days to 6 months) there is a presumption of domicile
Jurisdiction over FINANCIAL ISSUES and PROPERTY in a divorce proceeding requires
the court to have personal jurisdiction over both parties.
The modern rule for divorce grounds is
no-fault divorce.
Generally, no-fault divorce requires
(1) irreconcilable differences; or
(2) living separate and apart for a specific period
(3) incompability
The grounds for fault-based divorce are
(1) Adultery (provable by circumstantial evidence, but often requires corroboration)
(2) Desertion
(3) Cruelty (physical or mental)
(4) Habitual drunkenness or abuse of drugs commencing AFTER the marriage
(5) Insanity (might require institutionalization)
The defense to fault-based divorce are
(1) Collusion (parties agreed to simulate grounds)
(2) Connivance (P consented to other spouse’s misconduct, e.g. swingers)
(3) Condonation (P forgave the marital offense, generally requires sex
(4) Recrimination (spouse is also guilty, unclean hands)
Under legal separation, a couple is
(1) still married
(2) but can seek to have rights regarding property, spousal support, child custody, and child support decided.
The four main issues to decide upon a divorce are
(1) property division
(2) spousal support
(3) child custody
(4) child support
The three main approaches to property division at divorce are
(1) community property - all property acquired during the marriage is divided in half, all property acquired before is kept separate
(2) equitable division of ALL property owned by each spouse
(3) equitable division of MARITAL property and separate property is kept separate
**#3 is the most popular method
The two-step process to property division is
(1) classify the property into marital and separate property
(2) make an equitable division of the marital estate no matter how the marital property is actually titled
**Equitable does not necessarily mean equal
Property distribution decrees (are/are not) modifiable
not modifiable.
The six types of separate property are
(1) All real and personal property owned before the marriage
(2) Property acquired at any time by gift, bequest, devise, or descent
(3) Property acquired in exchange for property acquired before the marriage
(4) Income from and appreciation of separate property
(5) Pain and suffering awards, future medical expenses, future lost wages
(6) Property acquired after an order of legal separation and the court has made a final disposition of property
Marital property includes
(1) All property acquired DURING the marriage up to the final divorce decree (some states use the date of separation or date of divorce filing)
(2) Value of vested/unvested pensions, stock option rights, retirement or other fringe benefits of employment that accrued DURING the marriage
(3) recovery for wages lost DURING the marriage, reimbursement for medical bills paid for with marital property, property damage to marital property
Under commingling, separate property can become marital property if
it is inextricably intertwined (e.g. a bank account). Courts will still try to trace the property.
Under transmutation, separate property can become marital property based on
the intent of the parties.
Separate property can become marital property when improved by
(1) the use of marital funds; or
(2) efforts of the non-owning spouse