Family Law Flashcards
Marriage
A civil contract between two parties
Ceremonial Marriage Elements
- Age of consent usually 18
- Waiting period between license and ceremony
- Premarital medical testing
- Licenses can expire
- Solemnization ceremony requires 2 witnesses, an officiant, govt. issued license.
Common Law Marriages
- Agree that they are married
- Cohabit as spouses
- No ceremony and no license
- Most states have abolished
- must have capacity
- must have intent that they intent to be married (hold themselves out as married)
Heartbalm Actions
No longer legal, assume so unless said otherwise. Action by jilted party if marriage fails to take place.
Ending a Marriage
- Annulment
- Divorce
- Death
Annulment (Void marriages)
Does not require judicial dissolve, any party may seek
- Prior existing marriage
- incest
- Mental incapacity
Annulment (Voidable Marriage)
Requires judicial decree, sought by spouse.
- age
- Impotence
- Intoxication
- Fraud, misrepresentation, coercion, force
- Lack of intent
Fraud for Annulment
- Fraud must go to the essence of the marriage
- Fraud must be present at the time of the marriage
- Parties must immediately cease living together once discovered
Putative Marriage Doctrine
One spouse is unaware of impediment, may still use divorce proceedings even though marriage is void.
Divorce
Legal dissolution, most states have a residency requirement.
1. No fault or Fault
No Fault Divorce
Most states have
- Irretrievably Broken OR
- Incapacity
- Generally require a separation period
- Desire to reconcile does not bar dissolution
Fault Divorce
- Adultery
- Cruelty
- Desertion
- Habitual Drunkenness
- Bigamy
- Imprisonment
- Indignity
- Institutionalization
Defense to Divorce
(Only for Fault Based)
- Recrimination and Unclean hand
- Connivance
- Condonation
- Collusion
- Provocation
- Insanity
- Consent
- Justification
- Religion
Community Property
Marriage is a partnership; equal distribution of property.
Only in 9 states.
Equitable Distribution
Most states. “Fair” distribution
Marital Property Includes:
- Property acquired during the marriage
- Increases in non-marital property that result of either spouses efforts
- Gifts between spouses
4
- Party claiming something is NONMARITAL has the burden of proof.
Exceptions to Marital Property
- Property Acquired Before the marriage
- Property that is excluded pursuant to a valid agreement
- Property acquired by gift or inherentance
- Property sold, mortgaged or conveyed for value I good faith prior to final separation.
- Award or settlement for cause that accrued before the marriage.
Factors for distributing marital property
- Length of marriage
- Economic circumstances of each spouse
- age, health, earning potential, needs.
- Contributions to education or career of other
- income, medical needs
- Standard of living
- Economic circumstances of each at divorce
- Custodianship of any minor children
- Dissipation of assets
Accumulated Sick Days (marital property)
Jurisdictions are split
- They Are
- They are not
- Only those accrued during the marriage are
Factors in determining the amount of spousal support
- Financial resources of both parties
- Standard of living in the marraige
- Time to find a job
- Contributions to marriage
- Length of the marriage
- Age and health of the parties
- (some jurisdictions) misconduct.
Types of Alimony
- Lump Sum
- Permanent Alimony
- Durational Alimony
- Rehabilitate Alimony
- Reimbursement Maintenance
- Palimony
Factors that Affect Modification of Alimony
- Death
- Remariage
- Cohabitation
- Voluntary Retirement
Jurisdiction Over Support Awards
- Must be both personal and subject matter
- Duration of residency (6 weeks to 2 years)
- Matrimonial courts have full equity powers
- Court can grant divorce ex parte but not support order
Obtaining PJ over out-of-state parent
- Personal service on D
- Consent
- Past residency with Child
- D directed child to reside in state
- D engaged in act of conception in state
- D asserted parentage in state
- Any other basis consistent with Const.