Family Law

Question 1

Who may marry?

Answer 1

usually 18 year olds, cannot be closely related and must have the ability to comprehend and voluntarily agree

Question 2

What is required for marriage?

Answer 2

a license and solemization for a valid marriage.

Question 3

What is a license to marry?

Answer 3

to acquire a license the couple must go to the designated licensing officer in their county.

Question 4

What is solemnization?

Answer 4

a marriage will be solumnized by a ceremony performed by a judicial officer or a member of the clergy. After the ceremony, the license must be completed by one who solumnized the marriage and taken to local government office for public record.

Question 5

What is the capacity to consent?

Answer 5

parties to a marriage must process the mental capacity to understand their actions and agree to them. if the person is drunk or drugs, may lack mental capacity at the time marriage took place.

Question 6

What is the intent of marriage?

Answer 6

the parties must of their own free will, intend to enter into the marriage relationship. no fraud, duress, or coercion.

Question 7

What is common law marriage?

Answer 7

1) an exchange of consensts between two people
2) cohabitation
3) a holding out publicly of living together as spouses

Question 8

What is a premarital contract?

Answer 8

it is a contract between prospective spouses which pertain to property. the purpose of the premarital agreement is to provide for a distribution of assets upon divorce or death in a way that is different from what the law would require.

Question 9

What is the consideration for premarital contract?

Answer 9

entry into the marriage

Question 10

What is the content of the contract of under the UPAA?

Answer 10

1) the parties rights and obligations in any of the property of either or both of them
2) the right to buy, sell, lease, assign, dispose of, or otherwise manage or control property
3) disposition of property upon seperation, dissolution, death, or any other event
4) modification or elimination of spousal support
5) making of a will, trust, or other arrangement
6) ownership rights of life insurance policy
7) choice of law governing construction of agreement
8) any other matter not in violation of public policy.

Question 11

Can the Premartial agreement be amended or revoked?

Answer 11

Yes, only by a writing signed by both parties and it is enforceable without additional consideration.

Question 12

What is an annulment?

Answer 12

An annulment is a decleration that a marriage is invalid that due to an impediment at the time of the marriage, no marriage ever occurred. parties are treated as if they never married.

Question 13

What is a void marriage?

Answer 13

one that never existed for any purpose; it is complete nullity. If a marriage is void, no subsequent act can ratify the marriage. any interest party may seek this. ex. bigamy, consanguinity

Question 14

What is a voidable marriage?

Answer 14

if a marriage is voidable, one of the spouses may bring an action to have the marriage declared invalid because of an impediment at the time of the marriage. this cannot be attacked by a third party. ex. nonage, impotence, lack of capacity like mental competence, duress, or fraud

Question 15

What is the effect of divorce?

Answer 15

a decree of absolute divorce terminates the marriage relationship.

Question 16

What is no fault divorce?

Answer 16

divorce or dissolution without regard to marital fault. must show that the marriage is irretreivably broken. , that the parties have been living seperate and apart for while, or on grounds of incompatability. test is that is there a possibility of the parties reconciling.

Question 17

What is fault based divorce?

Answer 17

1. adultery
2. desertion (no intent to return)
3. extreme cruelty
   4) Voluntary Drug Addiction and Habitual Drunkenness
   5) Insanity

Question 18

What are the defenses to fault based divorce?

Answer 18

Collusion
connivance - consent of the other spouse’s misconduct
Condonation - offenses were forgiven
Recrimination - unclean hands , also guilty of misconduct.

Question 19

What is legal separation?

Answer 19

divorce from bed and board. this does not terminate the marriage and parties are not free to remarry once it is entered.

Question 20

What is community property?

Answer 20

all property acquired during marriage is deemed owned one-half by each spouse, and all property owned prior to the marriage or acquired by gift or bequest is deemed seperate property.

Question 21

What is the second way to divide property upon divorce?

Answer 21

equitable division of all the property owned by either spouse, whether acquired before or after the marraige

Question 22

What is the third way to divide property upon divorce?

Answer 22

equitable division of marital property (which means that each spouse takes his seperate property and the court divides the property acquired during marriage on an equitable basis. property distribution decrees are non modifiable

Question 23

What are the factors to consider during the division of property?

Answer 23

1) age, education, background, and earning capacities of both parties
2) duration of the marriage, and if there were any prior marriages
3) standard of living during marriage
4) present income of both parties, and their vocational skills
5) source of money used to purchase property
6) health of the parties
7) Assets, debts, and liabilities of the parties
8) needs of each of the parties
9) Provisions for the custody of minor children
10) Whether the distribution is in lieu of or in addition to alimony
11) each party’s opportunity to acquire future income and assets
12) each party’s contribution to the acquisition of or enhancement of the value of, the existing marital assets
13) Each party’s contribution as a homemaker to the family unit
14) whether either party has dissipated marital property (diminshed the value of marital assets by wrongful conduct)

Question 24

What is mixed property?

Answer 24

commingled property
transmutation of seperate property (evidence that it be treated as marital property)
improvement of seperate property (using marital funds)
property acquired before marriage but paid for after the marriage.

Question 25

Is property division a taxable event?

Answer 25

No.

Question 26

What is alimony?

Answer 26

spousal support may be awarded while the parties are still married, during the pendency of a divorce, or as part of the terms of a divorce decree. Either spouse can be ordered to pay spousal support to the other.

Question 27

What are the factors the court considers in its discretion to award child support?

Answer 27

1) standard of living during marriage
2) duration of the marriage
3) the age and physical and emotional conditions of both parties
4) the financial resources of each party
5) the contribution of each party to the marriage including, but not limited to, services rendered in homemaking, childcare, education, and career building of the other party
6) the time needed to obtain education or training to enable either party to find appropriate employment
7) the ability of the spouse from whom spousal support is sought to meet his needs while also paying spousal support.
some states include marital fault.

Question 28

What are the types of marital support?

Answer 28

permanent periodic spousal support, rehabilitative spousal support, lump sum spousal support, reimbursement spousal support