Marriage & Divorce Flashcards
Webster’s 1913 dictionary of marriage:
a legal union of a man and woman for life
Wikipedia “today’s” marriage:
a socially recognized union or legal contract between spouses
How old do you have to be to get married?
17 for Male and 16 for Female
Caveat & exception
- a license will only be issued with consent of the minor’s parents if anyone is under the age of 18
- if there is a pregnancy, a circuit judge might order the county clerk to issue a license if it is in the minor’s best interest
Annulment for minors; how and by whom?
- consent of the parent(s) or guardian is NOT provided
- or there has been a misrepresentation of age
- the contract may be annulled upon the application of the parent or guardian to the circuit court having jurisdiction
Incest
ALL marriages between:
- parents and children (in every degree)
- grandparents and grandchildren (in every degree)
- brothers and sisters (of half as well as whole blood)
- uncles and nieces
- aunts and nephews
- first cousins
ARE declared incestuous and absolutely void!
Premarital agreement (definition)
an agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be effective upon marriage
Requirements for Premarital agreements
- must be in writing
- must be signed and acknowledged by both parties
- is enforceable without consideration
What can be put in a Premarital agreement
- the rights and obligations of the parties in any of property whenever and wherever acquired
- modification or elimination of spousal support
- the making of a will or trust to carry out the agreement
- death benefit from a life insurances policy
- choice of law governing the construction of the agreement
- any other matter, including personal rights and obligations (cannot be in violation of public policy or statue imposing criminal penalty)
What can NOT be put in a Premarital agreement
Child Support
Effective date for premarital agreement and Revocation
- effective date is when you get married
- the agreement can be amended or revoked after marriage so long as it is in writing, signed, and acknowledge by both parties
- the amendment or revocation is also enforceable with consideration
Property rights while married
a married person may bargain, sell, assign, and transfer his or her personal property, carry on any trade or business, and perform any labor or services on his or her sole and separate account
Separate property while married
a person can maintain his or her personal or real property throughout the marriage so long as the property is maintained individually; if the property is commingled, it becomes marital property
Annulment (definition)
WHEN either party to a marriage is incapable from:
1. want of age or understanding of consenting to marriage
2. is incapable of entering into the marriage due to physical causes
3. when the consent have been obtained by force or fraud
THE marriage shall be void from the time it’s nullity shall be declared by a court
Examples of grounds for annulment
- if you don’t tell your future spouse of a contagious disease
- if you are drunk, you cannot consent to marriage
- marriage induced by misrepresentation as to paternity of child (on ground of fraud)
Legal Separation
written agreements between husband and wife made and entered into in contemplation of either separation or divorce; constructions of separation agreements are governed by the rules generally applicable to other contracts
Invalidations of Legal agreements
- no independent knowledge of the extent of spouse’s income or assets
- can sue under a breach of contract theory to enforce the terms set in the agreement
- if the parties resume their marital relationship, by clear preponderance of the evidence, then they intended to cancel their agreement