Midterm

Question 1

Age of Capacity

Answer 1

• The minimum age below which a young person may not marry - commonly set at age 14

KSA 23-2505
Can be 15 with consent, 16 and up have to have consent of legal guardians or judge if guardians are not available

Question 2

Common Law Marriage

Answer 2

• A marriage created by the conduct of the parties rather than through a formal ceremony. Creation usually requires agreement, cohabitation, and a reputation in the community as husband and wife
• Created by the conduct of the parties in the absence of a formal ceremony
• modern definition is the voluntary union of two persons, as spouses, to the exclusion of others

Question 3

Cohabitation

Answer 3

Two unmarried persons living together in an intimate relationship. The term applies to both same-sex and heterosexual couples.

Question 4

Marital Unity

Answer 4

A common law principle espousing that upon marriage a husband and wife become one, resulting in the suspension of the wife’s legal identity

Question 5

Incest

Answer 5

Unlawful sexual relations between persons who are closely related to each other; marriages contracted in violation of incest provisions are invalid

KSA 21-5604
Aggravated Incest: marriage to a person who is under 18 years old and is known to the offender to be related to the offender; engaging in acts with a person who is 16 or more years of age but under 18 years of age and who is known to the offended to be related to them

Question 6

Postmarital Agreements

Answer 6

Similar to a premarital agreement, but entered after rather than before a marriage: contract entered into by prospective spouses in which they seek to establish their respective rights in the event the marriage fails; most commonly, provisions address spousal support and the allocation of property

Question 7

No-contact Order

Answer 7

A protective order that prohibits someone from having any contact with the party they have abused

Question 8

Restraining Order

Answer 8

a court order directing a perpetrator to refrain from committing further acts of domestic violence against the party seeking protection from abuse; may also protect the children

Question 9

Stay-Away Order

Answer 9

a court order, pursuant to an abuse prevention law, requiring the perpetrator to keep away from the victim’s home or from the places where the victim regularly goes

Question 10

Procedural Fairness

Answer 10

Fairness of the parties in their treatment of one another in the process of negotiating an agreement

A near universal rule is that for a premarital agreement to be enforceable, the parties must have entered into it freely and with full knowledge of the other spouse’s financial circumstances; if a court determines that in the course of negotiating the agreement one party did not treat the other fairly, such as by not fully disclosing assets, it may invalidate the agreement

Question 11

Substantive Fairness

Answer 11

Fairness of the actual terms of an agreement

Courts in most jurisdictions will review the actual terms of the agreement to see if they are fair; fairness can be measured as it existed at the time the contract was executed, or as it exists at the time of performance or both

Question 12

Second Glance/Chance Doctrine

Answer 12

review by a court if the terms of premarital agreement to determine whether they are fair as of the time of enforcement

Question 13

Violence Against Women Act

Answer 13

A federal law providing protection to victims of domestic violence and funding or antiviolence programs

Question 14

Void/Voidable Marriage

Answer 14

Void - A marriage that is without any legal effect from its inception; a void marriage does not require a decree of annulment to invalidate it.

Voidable - A marriage that is considered valid unless and until it is declared invalid by a decree of annulment

Question 15

Child Support

Answer 15

the duty of financial support owed by a noncustodial parent to their minor children and to children over the age of majority in limited situations, such as in cases of disability

Question 16

Recrimination

Answer 16

a divorce defense that prevents a divorce from being granted on the basis that both parties are guilty of martial misconduct; may be ameliorated by the doctrine of comparative rectitude

Question 17

Tender Years Presumption

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Primary Caretaker

Answer 18

the parent who has been mainly responsible for the day-to-day care and nurture of the child

Question 19

Child Support Guidelines

Answer 19

mandated by federal law, guidelines employing numeric criteria used to calculate the amount of child support to be paid by the noncustodial parent; under certain circumstances, deviations from the resulting amount may be allowed

Question 20

Imputed/attributed Income

Answer 20

the attribution of income to a party who is deliberately unemployed or underemployed, based on earning capacity, for the purpose of establishing the amount of their support obligation

Question 21

Emancipation

Answer 21

the point at which a child is no longer considered a dependent of their parents; generally occurs at the generally occurs at the age of majority or upon the occurrence of certain acts, such as marriage of the child

Question 22

Transitional Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

Answer 22

designed to help needy families achieve self-sufficiency. if parents apply for benefits, automatically referred to a IV-D Agency for Child Support services

Question 23

Child Support Enforcement and Establishment of Paternity Act of 1974

Answer 23

the 1974 Child Support Enforcement and Establishment of paternity act required each state to develop a comprehensive child support program and to designate a single state agency - known as IV-D Agencies - to administer the program

Question 24

Marriage Formalities

Question 25

Age of Consent

Answer 25

• The age at which a young person becomes eligible to consent to their own marriage

Question 26

Bigamy/Polygamy

Answer 26

• All states prohibit a person from having more than one spouse at a time
• The unlawful act of contracting a second marriage while one or both of the partners is already married to someone else

KSA 21-5609
(a) bigamy is any of the following:
(1) marriage within this state by any other person who has another spouse living at the time of such marriage
(2) marriage within this state by an unmarried person to a person known to such unmarried person to be the spouse of some other person; or
(3) cohabitation within this state after marriage in another state after marriage in another state or country under circumstances described in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2)
(b) Bigamy is a severity level 10, nonperson felony
(c) It shall be a defense to a charge of bigamy that the accused reasonably believed the prior marriage had been dissolved by death, divorce, or annulment

Question 27

Statute of Frauds

Answer 27

a rule requiring that certain kinds of contracts be in writing in order to be enforceable

Question 28

Premarital Agreements

Answer 28

a contract entered into by prospective spouses in which they seek to establish their respective rights in the event the marriage fails; most commonly, provisions address spousal support and the allocation of property

Question 29

Equal Protection Clause

Answer 29

a clause in the 14th amendment that prevents states from imposing arbitrary and discriminatory legislative classifications

Question 30

Divorce

Answer 30

legal dissolution of a marital relationship, such thar the parties are no longer spouses

Question 31

Marriage Restriction Laws

Answer 31

laws that prevent certain people, such as close relatives, from marrying each other

Question 32

Ex Parte

Answer 32

a hearing that is held without prior notice to the other side due to the urgent nature of the proceeding or the harm that such notice would cause

Question 33

Annulment

Answer 33

a decree establishing that spouses were never actually married because an impediment existed at the time the marriage was celebrated

Question 34

Best Interest

Answer 34

the predominant legal standard for resolving custody disputes between parents; the standard is child-centered, focusing on the needs of the child rather than the rights of the parents

Question 35

Marital Interest

Question 36

Desertion

Answer 36

a fault ground for divorce; involves the voluntary, nonconsensual departure of one spouse without justification for a period of time defined by statute

Question 37

Cruelty

Answer 37

a fault ground for divorce based on mistreatment of a relatively serious nature; cruelty generally can include either physical or emotional wrongdoing

Question 38

Condonation

Answer 38

a divorce defense, the essence of which is that the plaintiff has forgiven the acts of martial misconduct upon which th9ie complaint for divorce is based

Question 39

Collusion

Answer 39

agreement by a couple to obtain a divorce in avoidance of the fault principle that requires a guilty and an innocent spouse

Question 40

De Facto Parent

Answer 40

an individual who has no biological relation to a child but who has functioned as a family member; must show that they resided with the child ad shared caretaking responsibilities with the consent and cooperation of the legal parent

Question 41

Virtual Visitation

Answer 41

the use of electronic communication tools as a supplemental way for a child and a noncustodial parent to connect

Question 42

Title IV-D Agency

Answer 42

the 1974 Child Support Enforcement and Establishment of paternity act required each state to develop a comprehensive child support program and to designate a single state agency - known as IV-D Agencies - to administer the program

assistance in locating absent parents, establishment of child support awards, periodic review of awards, enforcement of support awards, establishment of paternity

Question 43

Extraordinary Expenses

Answer 43

large, discrete expenditures that do not recur on a regular basis, as distinct from the day-to-day expenses of raising a child

Question 44

Modification of Child Support

Answer 44

child support orders are not generally considered final judgments and may be modified. petitioner must show that there has been a change in circumstances that justifies and upward or downward revision. change was not foreseeable.

Question 45

Change in Circumstances

Answer 45

a future event that arguably makes an existing order unfair and serves as the basis for a request for modification

Question 46

Domestic Violence

Answer 46

abusive behavior toward someone with whom one is in a dating, familial, household, or intimate relationship/violence between partners who are in a relationship

Question 47

Obergefell Case

Answer 47

• The well established constitutional rule that marriage is fundamental applies with “equal force to same-sex couples” based on four essential principles
  
  1. The right to personal choice regarding marriage is inherent in the concept of individual autonomy
  2. the right to marry is fundamental because it supports a two-person union unlike any other in its importance to the committed individuals
  3. safeguards children and families and thus draws meaning from related rights of childrearing, procreation, and education
  4. marriage is a keystone of our social order; there is no difference between same-and-opposite-sex couples with respect to this principle

Question 48

Adultery

Answer 48

voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone who is not their spouse; a fault divorce ground

Question 49

Due Process Clause

Answer 49

a clause found in both the 5th and 14th amendments that protects persons from arbitrary or intrusive governmental actions. the clause provides both procedural protections and substantive rights

Question 50

Unconscionability

Answer 50

when a contract is grossly unfair to one side; usually involves parties with a significant disparity in bargaining power

Question 51

Legal Separation

Answer 51

a judicial decree permitting parties to live apart, usually for cause, without dissolving the legal relationship of spouses

Question 52

Protective Order

Answer 52

In domestic violence cases, a court order to shield the victim from harm; although civil in nature, violation of these orders is a criminal offense in many states. A court order limiting discovery that is unreasonable or oppressive.

Question 53

Vacate Order

Answer 53

a court order requiring a perpetrator of domestic violence to move out of the home that they share with the part who has been abused; vacate orders do not affect title to property

Question 54

Temporary Order

Answer 54

an order made during the pendency of a legal proceeding; temporary orders are superseded by the judgement

Question 55

Separate Maintance

Answer 55

similar to a legal separation, but here the essence of the action is a request for support

Question 56

No-Fault Divorce

Answer 56

a divorce that is based in the breakdown of the marital relationship rather than on the marital fault of one spouse

Question 57

Noncustodial Parent

Answer 57

a parent who has been divested of both legal and physical custody, but is still a legal parent with enforceable rights, such as visitation

Question 58

Fault Divorce

Answer 58

a divorce that is premised on the marital fault of one spouse

Question 59

Connivance

Answer 59

a divorce defense, the offense of which is that the plaintiff consented to the wrongdoing upon which their complaint for divorce is based

Question 60

Joint/Sole Custody

Answer 60

Joint - as distinct from sole custody, the sharing of parental rights and responsibilities - can apply to legal or physical custody, or both
Sole - the vesting of custodial rights in one parent - can apply to legal custody, physical custody, or both

Question 61

Legal/Physical Custody

Answer 61

legal - as distinct from physical custody, legal custody confers on a parent the authority to make major decisions related their child’s life; legal custody can be sole or joint
physical - as distinct from legal custody, physical custody refers to where a child lives a parent with physical custody usually maintains a home for the child is responsible for the child’s day-to-day care; legal custody can be sole or joint

Question 62

Parent Locator Service

Answer 62

a federal or state agency that is responsible for locating absent parents in order to establish or enforce a child support award

Question 63

Parenting Plan

Answer 63

a written agreement in which the parents detail how they intend to care for their children following a divorce

Question 64

Contempt Proceedings

Answer 64

a proceeding against a party who is in violation of a court order; contempt proceedings can be either civil or criminal in nature. the purpose of a civil contempt actin is to obtain compliance with a court order, while the purpose of a criminal contempt cation is to punish a party for their noncompliance.