Financial Support & Alimony Flashcards
Factors considered in determining whether to award alimony
Financial resources
Standard of living
Duration of marriage (7, 7-17, 17+ )
Age/health
Earning capacity/education/skills
Time to acquire employment/education
Contributions to marriage (home-making, child-rearing)
Responsibilities to minor kids
Tax consequences
Marital misconduct (depleting marital assets)
Imputation of income
Any other factors necessary for equity
What are the 5 types of alimony?
Bridge the gap - 2 years transition to single life
Rehabilitative alimony - limited time so spouse can acquire independence
Durational alimony - assistance for a set period
Pendent lite (temporary) - from separation to divorce
Bridge the gap alimony
2 years only
To transition to single life
For specific short-term needs
Cannot be modified
Terminates upon either party’s death or the remarriage of recipient
Rehabilitative alimony
Limited time - 5 yr max
To help recipient become self-suficient and improve earning capacity
Specific rehabilitative plan is required
Can be modified/terminated upon substantial change in circumstances
Remarriage doesn’t lead to automatic termination, but is a factor to consider
Durational alimony
Lasts for short period-cannot be longer than duration of marriage
To prone economic assistance for set period
Only awarded if no other form of alimony is suitable
Terminates upon death of either party or remarriage of recipient
Amount may be modified upon substantial change in circumstances
Length may be modified due to exceptional circumstances
Pendent lite alimony (temporary)
Lasts from separation to divorce
To put parties on equal footing during proceedings
Can be vacated/modified/set aside for good cause
Retroactive modifications are permitted
Cannot be contracted away
Modification of support
Unexpected substantial change in circumstances (bop on moving party)
Death of either spouse
Remarriage of recipient ( not automatic re rehabilitative alimony)
Cohabitation - consider length of time, marital status, child support, financial support; does NOT terminate temporary alimony)
Retirement
Paternity - establishing it & consequences
An action to establish paternity may be brought by mom, child, or any man who believes he may be the father
If established, court may order birth costs, child support, attorney fees, child custody and time-sharing
Genetic testing may be ordered; state must pay for indigents test; 95% or greater creates a presumption of paternity
Marital presumption of paternity
A husband is presumed to be the father of his wife’s unborn child - this presumption can be overcome w/ clear and convincing evidence. If the marriage is void or an old, the child is not a marital child.
A child born within nine months of divorce or death of the husband is a marital child
There is an every butterball presumption of paternity for artificial insemination during marriage, with written consent of both spouses
If the reputed father marries the mother, after the birth of the child, then the child is marital
Estoppel of the denial of child support
A husband, who is not a biological father of a child, may be a stopped from denying his obligation to pay child support if:
He represented that he would pay child support;
The wife relied on that representation; &
The wife suffered economic detriment as a result
Statute of limitations of paternity
Four years from the child’s age of majority
Written acknowledgment of paternity
Signed by both mother and father; &
Notarized, or signed by two witnesses, under penalty and perjury;
60 days to resend the acknowledgment
After 60 days, the presumption of paternity can only be challenged by fraud, dress, or material mistake of fact
Disestablishment of paternity
To petition the court, the man must provide:
An affidavit of newly discovered evidence that the man is not the father;
Scientific test results, showing that he is not the father or an affidavit, that he had no access to the child for such testing; &
Proof that he is current or substantially, complied, with his child support obligations, and that any arrears are due to inability to pay or just cause
There is no retroactive recovery of child support already paid
Relief of paternity
Relief MUST be granted if:
The child is under the age of 18 at the time of the position;
Scientific, testing, as accurate;
Demanded not adopt a child;
The child was not born from artificial insemination during marriage between the parents; & 
The man did not thwart he biological father from asserting parental rights
Relief may not be granted if the Man:
Voluntarily acknowledge, paternity, and Ana tested document;
Married the mother and voluntarily assumed parents are obligations;
Voluntarily promise, to support the child; or
Disregarded an official notice for scientific testing
Personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state parent
Personal service
Consent
Current residency with the child in state
Past residency in the state plus payment of prenatal expenses or support of the child
Child resides in the state of the direction of the defendant
Intercourse in the state, and the child is the result of that act
Asserted parentage in a putative, father registry; or
Any other bases, consistent with the federal and state constitutions
