Mid Term

Question 0

What happened in In Re Marriage Cases? Why is this case so significant?

Answer 0

The California Supreme Court reversed a judgment. The court held that California statutory provisions limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples are unconstitutional.

Question 1

What happened in Loving v. Virginia? Why is this case so significant?

Answer 1

A mixed race couple were convicted in1967 under Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law. The US Supreme Court reversed their convictions and stated that marriage is a fundamental right

Question 2

Explain the difference between subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction

Answer 2

Subject matter jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hear a particular kind of case whereas personal jurisdiction is The power of a court to hear and determine a lawsuit involving a defendant by virtue of the defendant’s having some contact with the place where the court is located.

Question 3

How does the court obtain personal jurisdiction over respondent who lives in Florida?

Answer 3

Through service of process

Question 4

What is a “home state” under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act?

Answer 4

A home state is a state in which a child has lived for six continuous months or, if younger than six months, has lived in from birth

Question 5

Can a court obtain jurisdiction of a child when it is not the child’s home state? If so, when?

Answer 5

Once a state acquires home state status, it can retain that status for six months after the departure of a child so long as a parent or parent substitute remains in that state.

Question 6

What are four questions you would ask during an initial client consultation?

Answer 6

1. Why are you seeking a divorce?
2. Names and ages of the parties and their children.
3. Addresses of both spouses.
4. Are you seeking child support and/or alimony?
5. Is the other spouse employed? If so, where?

Question 7

List four methods of discovery.

Answer 7

1. Interrogatories
2. Depositions
3. Requests for admissions
4. Requests for documents and physical examinations

Question 8

What is a Marital Settlement Form?

Answer 8

A marital settlement agreement is used when a Petition for Simplified Dissolution of Marriage has been filed and the parties have reached an agreement on all of the issues at hand. It spells out the terms of the divorce.

Question 9

What are two ways to accomplish service?

Answer 9

1. Personal service
2. Service by mail
3. Constructive service (Service by publication and mailing)

Question 10

Why is it important to personally serve the petition on the respondent?

Answer 10

Unless the respondent signs the acknowledgment card there is no way of knowing whether he or she received notice of the action. This means that even if the jurisdictional requirements are met, the court will not be able to assert personal jurisdiction over the respondent .

Question 11

Is it a good idea to file an answer if you were served with the petition for dissolution of marriage?

Answer 11

Yes because if you do not answer you are in default which means that 1) the plaintiff is relieved of the obligation of providing you with notice about subsequent case proceedings and 2) the plaintiff may seek to have a default judgment entered in his or her favor.

Question 12

What’s the name of Florida’s title IV-D state agency for child support?

Answer 12

The Florida Department of Revenue

Question 13

Describe two alternative dispute resolution methods.

Answer 13

1. Mediation: the nonadversarial approach to dispute resolution which a neutral third-party helps parties reach a mutually satisfactory resolution to a conflict
2. Arbitration: a dispute resolution mechanism whereby parties agree to submit their disagreement to a neutral decision-maker whose decision is usually binding

Question 14

Name two services the state agency performs with respect to child support

Answer 14

Collection and enforcement

Question 15

Reimbursement alimony

Answer 15

Alimony awarded to a spouse who has contributed to the other spouse’s education during the marriage with the reasonable expectation of enjoying the fruits of that advanced degree.

Question 16

Rehabilitative support

Answer 16

Support that is awarded on a time-limited basis for the purpose of enabling an economically dependent spouse to obtain education or training necessary to become financially self-sufficient

Question 17

Opportunity cost

Answer 17

The loss of earning potential attributable to a lack of sustained relationship with the labor force, often due to a spouse’s primary investment in the domestic realm.

Question 18

Married Women’s Property Acts

Answer 18

The series of statutory reforms that gradually improved the legal status of married women, principally through extending rights of property ownership and control that had been denied at common law

Question 19

How can paternity be established?

Answer 19

Court ordered genetic testing or voluntary acknowledgment (admission)

Question 20

What are the requirements to get married in Florida?

Answer 20

1. Parties must be 18 years of age or older or
2. 16 years old or older with permission of a parent or guardian or if pregnant.
3. Must not be related
4. Must not be presently married
5. Must have a marriage license

Question 21

Describe the tender years doctrine

Answer 21

The traditional custodial assumption that children of a young age should be raised by their mothers

Question 22

What are three typical grounds for divorce in “fault” states?

Answer 22

Adultery, abandonment, cruelty

Question 23

Is it possible to undo paternity once it is been established?

Answer 23

Yes, through paternity disestablishment. This is a tool that is used by men who have been”duped” by women, often with the aid of the legal system.

Question 24

Describe the rights of stepparents.

Answer 24

Unless the step parent has adopted the child, he/she has no rights to visitation or custody. However, some courts have extended rights to stepparents based on the doctrine of “in loco parentis”.

Question 25

What does the term shared parental responsibility mean?

Answer 25

Shared parental responsibility means that both parents discuss and decide major decisions affecting the child. These are the decisions that have long-term consequences in your child’s life.

Question 26

What are typical grounds for divorce in “no-fault” states?

Answer 26

Irreconcilable differences, irretrievably broken

Question 27

Name the five types of alimony in Florida?

Answer 27

1. Temporary
2. Rehabilitative
3. Bridge the gap
4. Durational
5. Permanent

Question 28

What is the best interest standard? Name three of the factors Florida courts consider in primary residential parenting decisions.

Answer 28

The predominant legal standard for resolving custody disputes between parents; the standard is child-centered, focusing on the needs of the child rather than on the rights of the parents. 1. capacity and disposition of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship,

2. division of parental responsibilities after the litigation, including the extent to which parental responsibilities will be delegated to third parties.
3. length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment.and the desirability of maintaining continuity.
4. The moral fitness of the parents.
5. geographic viability of the parenting plan, with special attention paid to the needs of school-age children and the amount of time to be spent traveling to effectuate the parenting plan

Question 29

What is the difference between physical and legal custody and what are these terms currently called in Florida?

Answer 29

Physical custody refers to where the child lives, legal custody refers to the power to make decisions regarding the child’s daily life. In Florida physical custody is referred to as “time-sharing” and legal custody Is referred to as “parental responsibility”.

Question 30

Has Florida expressed a parenting policy? If so what is it?

Answer 30

Yes, shared parental responsibility

Question 31

Why were the 1970s so important when tracing the history of family related laws?

Answer 31

The beginning of no-fault divorce, increases in women’s rights, and the end of the tender years doctrine.

Question 32

Name the three factors that Florida courts consider when determining entitlement to alimony?

Answer 32

Need, ability to pay, length of the marriage

Question 33

Describe the evolution Of alimony awards from colonial times until now.

Answer 33

In colonial times there was no alimony. From the 1700s to the 1970s the innocent spouse received alimony. In the 1970s the introduction of no-fault divorce meant that either spouse could receive alimony depending on need, Ability to pay or length of marriage.

Question 34

What terms are used to describe the length of marriage in Florida?

Answer 34

Short-term, moderate term, and long-term.

Question 35

What is the purpose of rehabilitative alimony?

Answer 35

Rehabilitative alimony Is time-limited support intended to enable a spouse to obtain the education or training necessary to become economically self-sufficient.

Question 36

Before no-fault divorce reforms, how did common-law divide property in divorces?

Answer 36

In colonial times the husband received all property. In the late 1830s the Married Women’s Property Acts gave married women rights of ownership over their own property which served to protect it from Being seized by their husbands’ creditors

Question 37

What is a QDRO and why do many people try to avoid it?

Answer 37

A Qualified Domestic Relations Order. A court order that allows the distribution of pension benefits to a non-employee spouse. It is expensive: $500.

Question 38

What is co-mingling or transmutation?

Answer 38

The post-acquisition change in the classification of an asset from marital to non-marital or vice versa. Transmutation can occur thru agreement, commingling, the taking of title in joint name, or use.

Question 39

What is required for a successful rotating custody arrangement?

Answer 39

Communication between the two parties, proximity

Question 40

What are the three phases of property division?

Answer 40

Classification, valuation, distribution

Question 41

Describe how social norms affect family laws.

Answer 41

The increase in women’s rights coupled with husbands desires to play a larger role in child-rearing have affected family laws greatly. Also Increased acceptance of same-sex couples.

Question 42

Define marital asset

Answer 42

An asset acquired during the marriage (until divorce papers are filed) as a result of marital efforts or funds which are subject to division at divorce.

Question 43

Define “non-marital” asset

Answer 43

Property acquired by either spouse prior to the marriage, inheritances, investments