Domestic Relations Flashcards
(56 cards)
Annulment
The legal determination that a marriage did not exist.
Void Marriage
A marriage that has no legal effect.
What are the impediments that result in a void marriage?
- Lack of proper license and solemnization;
- Bigamy;
- Consanguinity or affinity;
- Nonage (underage without the required consent)
Voidable Marriage
A marriage that is valid unless annulled by the aggrieved party.
What happens if a voidable marriage is confirmed by the aggrieved party?
The validity of the marriage may not be questioned or attacked by any person.
What are the impediments that can make a marriage voidable?
- Mental incapacity or infirmity;
- Fraud or duress;
- Natural or incurable impotency existing at the time of marriage;
- A felony conviction of either party without the other party’s knowledge;
- Pregnancy by another man at the time of marriage, without the husband’s knowledge;
- Husband fathering a child with another woman within 10 months after marriage, without wife’s knowledge;
- Either party having been a prostitute prior to marriage, without the other party’s knowledge
A marriage is voidable if a husband fathers a child with another woman within _____________ after marriage, without wife’s knowledge.
10 months.
Defense against annulment
An annulment may not be obtained if the party seeking annulment has cohabited with the other after knowledge of the facts giving rise to the grounds for annulment.
What is the statute of limitations for filing for annulment?
An annulment may not be granted if the parties had been married for at least two years prior to filing.
A party who was 18 or older at the time of marriage may not seek annulment if ______________.
the other party was under 18 at the time of the marriage.
What are the effects of annulment regarding alimony and property division?
The court may divide property and/or order support as in divorce cases.
What is the legitimacy status of children from annulled marriages?
Children are considered legitimate.
Divorce
A legal termination of a marriage that did exist.
What is the general principle of property division in divorce?
Equitable Distribution
What constitutes separate property?
- All property, real or personal, acquired by either party before the marriage;
- All property acquried during the marraige by bequest, devise, descent, survivorship, or gift from a source other than the spouse;
- All property acquired during marriage from property maintained as separate property; and
- Any other property classified as separate by the court.
What constitutes marital property?
- All property titled in both parties’ names;
- All property acquired by each party during the marriage that is not separate property; and
- Any other property classified as marital by the court.
Marital property is determined as of _________.
the date of the last separation of the parties.
Commingled Property
Separate property that has been mixed or combined with marital property to the point that it becomes difficult to distinguish one from the other.
Commingled property will remain separate only…
to the extent it can be traced by a preponderance of the evidence (usually via detailed records, such as bank statements or receipts), and if it was not a gift.
Equitable Distribution Factors
- Contributions to the family and marriage (financial and non-financial);
- Length of the marriage (generally, longer = more equal split);
- Age and health of spouses;
- Circumstances of marriage dissolution;
- Character of the property
- Debts and liabilities; and
- Any other factors deemed necessary or appropriate by the court in order to arrive at a fair and equitable monetary award.
Does Virginia recognize marriages entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier marriage of one of the parties?
No.
Does Virginia recognize common law marriage?
No.
Grounds for Divorce
Adultery;
Felony;
Cruelty;
Desertion;
Separation
Divorce for Adultery
In Virginia, adultery constitutes grounds for divorce, but requires:
- corroboration of evidence of one spouse having intimate relations with a party outside the marriage; and
- both spouses do not voluntarily live together after knowledge of the adultery.
