Family Law - Black Letter Law Flashcards
Which of the following is included in the fundamental right to privacy protected by the United States Constitution through the Due Process Clause?
A. The right of a minor to access abortion without restriction.
B. The right of grandparents to have visitation with their grandchildren.
C. The right of extended families to live together.
D. The right of parents to determine their child’s education at their sole discretion.
C. The right of extended families to live together.
The right of privacy includes the right of related persons to live together. For example, a zoning ordinance prohibiting persons beyond a certain degree of relation from living in a single household is unconstitutional because there is no compelling state interest to justify the rule. The right to privacy is not mentioned in the United States Constitution, but the United States Supreme Court has recognized that a right of personal privacy is constitutionally protected because it is implicit in the concept of “liberty” within the protection of the Due Process Clause. The right of a minor to access abortion is not unfettered. Grandparents do not have a right to visit their grandchildren, and indeed the right to privacy protects a fit parent’s decision regarding whether third parties, including grandparents, may have visitation with their children. The right to privacy does include the right of parents to educate their children outside the public schools; however, that right is subject to the state’s right to prescribe reasonable educational standards and is not without limit.
Which of the following grounds make a marriage voidable?
A. Bigamy.
B. Lack of mental capacity.
C. Abuse.
D. Consanguinity.
B. Lack of mental capacity.
Lack of mental capacity makes a marriage voidable. A voidable marriage is valid unless one spouse seeks to have it annulled because of an impediment that existed at the time of the marriage. Valid grounds for the finding of a voidable marriage are: (i) nonage; (ii) lack of physical capacity; and (iii) lack of mental capacity. A void marriage, on the other hand, is one that never existed for any purposes and that any interested party may seek to attack on the following grounds: (i) bigamy or polygamy; and (ii) consanguinity or affinity. Abuse is not a valid ground for finding a marriage voidable.
How is property divided in an annulment?
A. It is not; the court will not resolve property disputes because the marriage never legally existed.
B. The court attempts to distribute property in direct proportion to the parties’ contribution to their purchase.
C. The court attempts to divide all property equally.
D. The court attempts to place the parties in their pre-“marriage” position.
D. The court attempts to place the parties in their pre-“marriage” position.
In most cases, courts attempt to place the parties in their pre-“marriage” position when dividing property after an annulment. In granting the annulment, the court will resolve property disputes, but the distribution need not be equal or in direct proportion to the parties’ contribution to the property. Usually courts try to divide property acquired before the marriage by giving to each party that property to which he has legal or equitable title. When dividing property acquired during the marriage, courts use the standards of property division used in divorce cases.
Which of these is a requirement under the Equitable Parent Doctrine for a party who is not a child’s biological parent be considered the natural parent of the child?
A. The party reasonably believed that the child was his biological child at the time of the child’s birth.
B. One of the child’s biological parents is deceased or unknown.
C. The child’s biological mother consents to the party seeking parental status.
D. The party seeking parental status was married to the child’s biological mother at the time of the conception or birth of the child.
D. The party seeking parental status was married to the child’s biological mother at the time of the conception or birth of the child.
If a party was married to the child’s biological mother at the time of the conception or birth of the child, that party can be treated as the child’s natural parent under the Equitable Parent Doctrine. It is necessary that the party be married to the mother of the child and not merely cohabitating or in a relationship with her. Under this doctrine, a spouse, who is not the biological parent of a child born or conceived during the marriage, may be considered a natural parent if: (i) that spouse and the child mutually acknowledge a parent-child relationship, or the mother has cooperated in the development of such a relationship over a period of time prior to the filing of the complaint for divorce; (ii) that spouse desires to have the rights afforded to a parent; and (iii) that spouse is willing to take on the responsibility of paying child support. It is not necessary that the party believe the child to be his biological child at birth, that a biological parent be deceased or unknown, or that the child’s biological mother consents to the status.
