Family Law

Question 1

Family Law Acronyms: UMDA

UPAA

UIFSA

PKPA

UCCJEA

Answer 1

UMDA- Uniform Marriage and Divorce

UPAA- Uniform Premarital Agreement Act

PKPA: Parental Kidnappying Prevention Act

UCCJEA- Uniform Child Custody Juridiction and Enforcement Act

Question 2

Common Law Marriage

Answer 2

requires the spouses:

• live together for a specified amount of time
• be legally able to marry
• have a present agreement that they are married; AND
• hold themselves out to be married.,
  *

Question 3

Premarital Agreements: Enforceability

Answer 3

Enforceable under UPAA if:

• in writing and signed by both parties

not enforceable if:

• involuntary (fraud, duress or coercion)
• unconscionable AND before execution, spouse was not provided fair disclosure of property/ financial obligations; did not waive disclosure in writing; or did not have knowledge of such information.

Question 4

Premarital Agmt: Child Custody

Answer 4

not binding on a court and any provision that adversely affects a child’s right to support is unenforceable.

if an agmt is not in childs best interest, court may order parent to pay an amount reasonable or necessary for the child’s support.

Question 5

Premarital Agmt: Spousal Support

Answer 5

UPAA permits it but is not enforceable if it makes the spouse leigible for public support (welfare)

Question 6

Jurisdiction in marital/Divorce Actions

Answer 6

• ex parte divorce: may be maintained w/o pj over the absentee spouse only if plaintiff spouse is domicilary of the rendering state. (most states have a residency requirement)
• child custody: must have pj over defendant spouse
• divisible divorce: on spouse can terminate marriage in one proceeding and reserve other issues for later.

Question 7

Jurisdiction in Child Custody Matter

Answer 7

court must have smj to issue or modify child custody order.

Question 8

UCCJEA: Home State Jurisdiction for Child Custoy matter

Answer 8

court may decide child custody only if it has:

• child’s home state; or
• where child livid with a parent for 6+ months immediately before action waws filed; child absent from state and parent or acting parent is still present in the state.

Question 9

UCCJEA: Significant Connection Jurisdiction

Answer 9

a court may decide child custody if it has:

• no home state
• child and at least one parent hav e a significant connection to the state AND
• sinstantial evidence in the state exists.

Question 10

UCCJEA: More Appropriate Forum Jurisdiction

Answer 10

court may decide child custody if all other courts decline to exercise jurisdiction because this particule court is a more appropriate forum.

Question 11

UCCJEA: Emergency Jurisdiction

Answer 11

child physically present in the state AND abandoned or its an emergency to protect the child.

Question 12

UCCJEA: No other state Jurisdiction

Answer 12

when no other state has jurisdiction.

Question 13

PKPA Jurisdictions

Answer 13

the same jurisdictional definition as UCCJEA.

Home State, Signficant Connections, More Appropriate Forum, Emergency Jurisdiction, Emergency Jurisdiction, or No other State Jurisdiction.

Question 14

Adoption Matter Jurisdictions

Answer 14

Are the same as UCCJEA

Home State, Signficant Connection, More Appropriate Forum, Emergency Jurisdiction, or No Other State Jurisdiction

Question 15

Division of Approach: Equitable Division

Answer 15

marital assets are divided among the spouses by equitable distribution

Question 16

Division of Property: Separate Property

Answer 16

includes:

• property acquired before marriage
• gifts and bequest (even if in marriage)
• property that spouses agree will be separate property; and
• passive appreciation of assets (increase in value due to the passing of time)

Question 17

Division of Property: Marital

Answer 17

all other property acquired during marriage include active appreciation (increase in value by effort of spouse); and future expectancies

Question 18

Distribution of Marital Prop

Answer 18

marital prop is pooled and divided among spouses. distrinution is based on factors.

factors: duration of marriage, age, earning capacity, lifestyle, income, separate property od each spouse.

Question 19

Accural of marital property

Answer 19

some states: ends upon permanent separation

other states: ends upon a final divorce decree.

Question 20

Spousal Support:

Answer 20

maintenance or alimony, maintains a spouses standard of living anf limit unfair effects of divorce.

Question 21

When is spousal support awarded under UMDA

Answer 21

only awarded if:

• lacks sufficient property AND
• is unable to support him/herself through employment OR is the custodian of a child with a condition where the spoise cannot seek employment.

Question 22

How does court consider determing amount of spousal support

Answer 22

• financial resources
• time necessary for obtaining a job
• standard of libing durign mariation
• duration of marriage
• age and physical conditon
• ability of the spouse paying support

** minority of states will consider fault or marital misconduct.

Question 23

How do you terminate spousal support

Answer 23

terminates upon death of obligor spouse.

Question 24

Modifying spousal support

Answer 24

show change circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unconscionable.

Question 25

Child Support: parents legal obligation

Answer 25

a bio parent is legally obligated to pay child suport (regardless if child intended or wanted)

Question 26

Child support guidelines

Answer 26

fed law requires guidelines that * take into account all earnings and income of the non-custodial parent **AND** are based on specific descriptive and numeric criteria.

Question 27

Educational Expense

Answer 27

some states require support for college/ continuing education byt a child may lose the right to payments if the child does not follow the obligor-parent reasonable instruction.

Question 28

Termination of Child Support

Answer 28

* most stateS: terminateupon death but deceased's estate remains liable for past due payments. * some states: obligation **does not terminate.** allows access to deceased's estate to fulfill future payments.

Question 29

Modification of Support

Answer 29

only when there is a substantial and continuing change in circumstances making the prior order unreasonable. some courts may not permit a modification if the change was anticipated or voluntary. others may in good faith. cannot retroactively modify support orders.

Question 30

UIFSA and Modification

Answer 30

UIFSA: courts must give full faith and credit to support orders from other states. cannot modify a child support order of another state unless: * court has jurisdiction to issue an order AND * either * all parties do ont reside in the issuing state. or * each party has consented in writing to jurisdiction in another state.

Question 31

Issuing State:

Answer 31

has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over an order if * state is still the residence of one partty or * all parties consent ina record or in open court.

Question 32

best interest of child standard: child custody

Answer 32

determine child custody based on the best interest of the child. * court cannot award or deprive custody based on a parent's lifestyle, values, or religious beliefs but can take it into account if endangers the child.

Question 33

Parent vs. Third party custody

Answer 33

a fit legal parent is given preference, and it's presumed that such custody is in the best interests of the child. * in some state rebutted if detrimental to the child. court must give geat weight to a parents determination of whats best for the child. court will only grant custody to a third party upon showing a special circumstances (abuse, neglect, abandonment, mentally incompentent, parent surrendered the child.)

Question 34

unmarried: agmt between cohabitants

Answer 34

an agreement for division of property between unmarried cohabitants may be express or implied. * express: oral or written: enforceable except if based on sexual relations. * implied: court may find an implied in fact agmt if the parties comingled funds during the relationship.

Question 35

Paternity

Answer 35

can be established by: * birth certificate * legal presumption - if born during marriage presumed marital child but can be rebutted. * unmarried parent voluntarily sign an acknowledgement of paternity. * paternity suit and or * paternity by estoppel - held himself out as the father and paid support paternity confirmed = child support obligations.

Question 36

adoption

Answer 36

severs bio legal rights and responsibility to child. some states: inheritance rights of the child are not terminated if adopted by a blood relative.

Question 37

consent to adoption

Answer 37

both parents consent general non marital child: father required when he assumed parental responsibilities consent not required when: parent surrendered; parent is incompetent due to mental illness; child abandoned; permanently neglected the child. \*\*consent cant be w/d after adoption decree.