Flash Cards for Bar Courses - Family Law

Question 1

Uniform Premarital Agreement Act

Answer 1

Agreements can cover the disposition of property in the event of deathy or divorce

• CHILD CUSTODY IS NEVER BINDED BY THE COURT

Requirements:
- in writing and signed
- entered into voluntarily
- full and fair disclosure of the parties’ assets
- unconscionable
- fair and reasonable

Question 2

Marriage Requirements

Answer 2

• License
• Ceremony w/ an authorized officiant
• No Legal impediments (Too closely related, bigamy)
• Capacity to consent (Age of majority is 18)

Question 3

Common Law marriage requirmetns

Answer 3

1) Consent to amrry
2) Cohabitation
3) couple holding themselves out publicly as spouses

Question 4

Doctrine of necessaries

Answer 4

can be used ot make one spouse liable to third parties for the other spouse’s purchases for necessary expenses, such as food, clothing, and health care

Question 5

Criminale COnversation

Answer 5

When one spouse has sexual realtions w/ a 3rd person, then spouse may have a cause of actioon. To prove: must have a valid marriage and the act of adultry to be proven

Question 6

Annulment

Answer 6

is a backward looking doctrine that declares a marriage invalid b/c an impediment that existed at the time of the marriage makes it legally void or voidable. Once decree has been entered, the parties are treated as thought the y were never married

Question 7

Void Marriage

Answer 7

A void marriage is invalid, an utter nulity, b/c it failed to meet the essential req. for a legal marriage. Any interest party may seek annulment of a void marriage. Cannot be ratifierd

Question 8

Examples of void marriages

Answer 8

• Bigamy
• Polygamy
• Consanguinity (marriages between parties who are too closely related)

Question 9

Vodable marriage

Answer 9

is a marriage that is valid until declared null. Can be ratified

Ex.
- Nonage (spouse was under the statuteory age
- Incurable physical impotence
- Lack of Capicity
- Duress
- Fraud

Question 10

Divorce: Jurisdiction (residency req)

Answer 10

Only one spouse of the parties needs to be domiciled in the jurisdiction. (usualy a time of 90 days). Sometimes more than 1 state can have jurisdiction, and the first ct to render judgment causes the other courts to lose SMJ

Question 11

No Fault divorce

Answer 11

Req. showing
- both spouses agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken
– one spouse thinking the marriage can be saved is insufficient if the other believes it cannot be saved.

• spoiuuse have been living apart for a continuous amt of time (90 days tp 18 months)
• spouses agree that they are now incompatible.

Question 12

Fault divorce

Answer 12

• Adlutry
• willful deserrtion
  -cruelty
• drug or alochol addiction
• insanity

Defenses
- collusion
- Connivance
- Condonation
- Recrimination

Question 13

Approaches to proeprty Division

Answer 13

Community Property: all prop. acq. during the marriage is deemed owned 1/2 by each spouse

Equitable division of all property: court divides all property owned by either spouse, whether acquired before or after the marriage

Equitable division of marital property: each spouse takes their seperate proeprty and the ct only divides that proeprty acquired during the marriage (MOST POPULAR)

Question 14

Seperate Property

Answer 14

Owned b4 marriage

Acquired by gift or inheritance

acquirted in exchange for separate property

income and appreciation of seperate property

pain and suffering awards

Personal damages

Property acquired affter an order of legal separation that includes a final disposition of property

Question 15

Marital Property

Answer 15

Is all propert acqiroed during the marriage

• earnings
• Employment benefits, pensions, and stock optioons
• Lost Wages
• Reimbursement for medical bills incurred and paid w/ marital property
• recovery for damages to marital property

Question 16

Types of Alimony

Answer 16

1) Perminant periodic Spousal Support: Indefinte and terminates upon proof of substantial changez (re marriage or death)

2)Lump Suma: fixed amount paid at once or over a period (does not terminate)

3) Rehabilitive Spousal Support: paymetns for time for spouse to gain skills to become self supporting

4) Reimbursement Spousal Support: to a spouse who supported the other while the latter obntained a professional license or degree

Question 17

Factors Courts consider when awarding alimony

Answer 17

The needs of the dependent spouse and the ability of the other spoiuse to pay

Question 18

Tax consequences of spousal support

Answer 18

If dupport agreement was:

b4 2019: payments are deductibel

post 2019, payments are not deductiblke

Question 19

Jurisdiction to enter a child support under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA)

Answer 19

OG jurisdiciton to enter is where the 1st petition udner UIFSA was filed

Another state can have jurisdiction only if:
- 2nd petition is filed b4 the time to answer the first has expired
- peitioner objected to jurisdiction in the first action
- the 2nd state is the child’s home state

Question 20

Jurisdiction to modify a child support order

Answer 20

The cvourt that issues the order has continuing and exclusicve jurisdiction

Question 21

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Encoforcement Act (UCCJEA)

Answer 21

purpose us ti avoid jurisdictional disputes regarding child custody and visitation, promote interstaet cooperation, and facilitate the interstate enforcement of custody and visitation orders.

Question 22

Child Custody: Primary Test - home state jurisdiction

Answer 22

ct has jurisdiction to initally enter or modify a child custody or visitation order if the state:
- is the child’s home state OR
- was the child’s home state within the past 6 months and the child is absent from the state, but a parent or person acting as parent continues to live in the state

Is child’s HOME STATE OR where child lived with parent continuously for the last 6 months

Question 23

Child Custody Genrally

Answer 23

Legal Custody = right to make major decisions affecting the child’s life)
Physiucal custody = actual possession and control of the child
Joint Custody = can mean either joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or both

Question 24

Best Interest of Child Standard

Answer 24

When awarding custody and vistation, the best interst of the child is considered

• wishes of the paretns
• child preferencee (given great weight if 12 or older and if under 8 not really considered)
• child relationshop
• Child’s adjustment
• Mental and physical health
• primary caregiver

Question 25

Divorce Court’s Distribution of Property that does not have PJ over both spouses

Answer 25

A court cannot determine out of state property rights or rights to support unless it has jurisdiction over both parties.

In an ex parte divorce, the ct can grant the divorce but cannot award spousal support or divide out of state property

Question 26

Adoption of a child

Answer 26

• Usually needs the consent of both biological parents
• consent from an unwed father depends on how involved the father was with the child
• consent depends upon whether parental rights were terminated.