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1Are separation, annulment, divorce, and dissolution the most common ways in which a marriage can end prematurely?
2Is a legal separation an option for couples who want to live apart from each other and separate their financial affairs but do not want to legally ...
3What is an annulment?
4For purposes of an annulment, what is a void marriage?
5For purposes of an annulment, what is a voidable marriage?
6Do most jurisdictions allow courts to order distribution of property and alimony in the event of an annulment?
7What must the spouses in a legally valid marriage do if they wish to end their marriage?
8A husband and wife married legally. Two days later, the wife told the husband that she regretted marrying him and wished to divorce him. The husban...
9In states that allow for fault-based divorce, if one spouse demonstrates that the other spouse committed a specific wrongful act to destroy the rel...
10In those states that allow adultery as a fault-based ground for divorce, what constitutes adultery?
11In those states that allow adultery as a fault-based ground for divorce, must adultery typically be proven with more evidence than the other types ...
12If a married couple has separated but not yet legally divorced, will some courts treat a sexual relationship that began after the separation as adu...
13In those states that allow desertion as a fault-based ground for divorce, what constitutes desertion?
14In those states that allow cruelty as a fault-based ground for divorce, are both physical and mental cruelty included in the definition of cruelty?
15Do some states allow a fault-based divorce if one spouse habitually abuses alcohol or drugs?
16If one spouse has provided satisfactory proof that the other spouse committed a fault that could justify a fault-based divorce, may the other spous...
17What are the fault-based defenses to a divorce?
18Under what circumstances is collusion a defense to a fault-based divorce?
19For purposes of a defense to a fault-based divorce, what is condonation?
20What behavior by an innocent spouse constitutes connivance for purposes of a defense to a fault-based divorce?
21Which defense to a fault-based divorce is based on a claim that the innocent spouse provoked the fault in question?
22If both spouses have committed a fault that would justify a fault-based divorce, is either spouse entitled to a fault-based divorce?
23What is the term for a divorce that terminates a marriage without assigning blame to one of the spouses?
24What is a divorce by mutual consent?
25May a unilateral no-fault divorce be requested by only one of the spouses?
26For purposes of no-fault divorce, is the word of one spouse sufficient to establish that a marriage has irretrievably broken down?
27Is the amount of time spouses must live separate and apart for a no-fault divorce prescribed by statute?
28Do some state statutes and the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act (UMDA) allow irretrievable breakdown to be proven by a showing that the parties hav...
29For purposes of obtaining a no-fault divorce, if a couple separates but then attempts a reconciliation, does the reconciliation erase any time the ...
30A husband and wife married in a state that followed the UMDA. The husband and wife lived together for three years. The husband moved into a separat...
31Do many jurisdictions use the term dissolution of marriage as a synonym for the term divorce?
32May a divorce case be filed in federal court under diversity jurisdiction if each party lives in a different state?
33To have jurisdiction over ending a marriage, must a court have both subject-matter jurisdiction over the marriage and personal jurisdiction over at...
34What is required for a court to have personal jurisdiction over at least one of the spouses, as required to have jurisdiction over ending a marriage?
35Are state residency requirements for divorce filings considered unconstitutional violations of the liberty interests protected by the Due Process C...
36May a state court grant a divorce if only one of the parties resides in that state?
37A husband and wife were married and lived in State A for five years. The wife left the husband and moved to State B. Two weeks later, the wife atte...
38If a court is asked to distribute property in addition to issuing an order ending a marriage, must the court have personal jurisdiction over both s...
39If one spouse has left the state and cannot be located, do some jurisdictions allow for service by publication?
40Must a court have personal jurisdiction over the defendant spouse to award alimony?
41Under UIFSA, does the original court that issued an alimony award retain continuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the order awarding alimony?
42Must a court have personal jurisdiction over the defendant spouse in an action for child support?
43What is required for a state court to have personal jurisdiction over a resident of another state for modification in a child-support case?
44In actions involving child custody, must the court have personal jurisdiction over the respondent parent?
45Will a valid divorce decree from one state generally be recognized by another state as valid?
46A husband and wife were married and lived in State A. A second husband and wife were married and lived in State B. The first husband and the second...
47Must one state give full faith and credit to another state’s child-support order?
48Under what circumstances may a court in a state modify a child-support order from another state?
49What purpose does a preliminary or interlocutory order serve in a divorce?
50Is a preliminary order in a divorce generally effective only until a more final order is issued?
51Are the spouses still legally married once a court issues an interlocutory order in a divorce?
52Will a court always issue a final order in a divorce even if it issued an interlocutory order?
53May a party to a divorce case generally file an appeal to a preliminary or interlocutory order in that divorce case?
54May a party to a divorce case generally file an appeal to the final order in that divorce case?
55A husband and wife were litigating their divorce. The wife was unhappy with the court’s interlocutory order granting the husband exclusive possessi...
56A husband and wife were married. The husband moved out of the marital home and into his own apartment. The husband filed for divorce, and the wife ...
57At the end of a marriage, can the spouses’ property be divided into categories to reflect which property is separate property and which property is...
58In most jurisdictions, is all property held by either spouse always subject to equitable distribution upon divorce?
59Do most states generally follow the assumption that all property a spouse owned before marriage is separate property, and property acquired during ...
60Do some states treat an increase in value of separate property during the course of the marriage as marital property?
61What is a transmutation of separate property?
62What is a commingling of property?
63May courts rely on expert testimony in determining the value of an item of marital property?
64For an asset that may change in value over time, which dates will courts use to determine the beginning and ending values of the asset?
65What are the two different state approaches to property division in divorce?
66Does the equitable division of property require that the property be divided exactly equally between the parties?
67A husband and wife sought a divorce. The state in which they resided followed the equitable-distribution approach to property division. The husband...
68In determining the equitable division of property, do courts consider factors including the duration of the marriage?
69Do most jurisdictions consider marital fault as a factor in determining the division of property?
70What is the spousal-contribution factor in the division of marital property upon divorce?
71If a marital asset is not easily divided between the spouses, how will courts generally achieve division of the asset?
72What are the three methods a court may use in determining the valuation and distribution of unvested pension benefits?
73A husband and wife sought a divorce. The husband had a retirement account, which the wife wished to acquire partially in the divorce. The state fol...
74What is alimony?
75In most states, is alimony considered a secondary financial remedy to property division in a divorce case?
76In most states, do courts have discretion to determine whether to award alimony?
77In awarding alimony, do courts typically consider factors including the earning capacity of the spouses and the duration of the marriage?
78What is the basic requirement for a divorcing spouse to be eligible for alimony?
79A husband and wife sought a divorce. The state in which they resided had a maintenance statute that followed the UMDA. The husband was a neurosurge...
80May fault ever be considered for the determination of alimony?
81A husband and wife sought a divorce. The state in which they resided had adopted the UMDA. The husband had been abusive to the wife for their entir...
82Is there only one form of alimony that courts may award in a divorce case?
83Is temporary alimony awarded between the date of filing for divorce and the actual divorce decree?
84In what circumstance may a court award rehabilitative alimony?
85What is reimbursement alimony?
86What is permanent alimony?
87Will a small decrease in an ex-spouse’s standard of living after a divorce justify an award of alimony?
88Is alimony currently treated as income under tax law?
89What is parentage by estoppel?
90A husband and wife had two children by in vitro fertilization. The children were conceived using eggs from a female donor and the husband’s sperm. ...
91Does a parent’s child-support obligation begin at the child’s birth?
92In general, does a parent’s child-support obligation end when the child reaches the age of majority?
93Do some states give courts discretion to extend a parent’s child-support obligation while the child pursues an undergraduate degree?
94Is the calculation of child support specifically directed by state guidelines?
95How is a parent’s income determined for purposes of calculating child-support obligations?
96What is the legal term for using an amount of pay higher than a party’s actual wages to calculate the appropriate amount of child support?
97A mother and father were the divorced parents of one child. The mother had primary custody of the child, and the father paid child support to the m...
98What is the method used in the majority of states for determining the amount of child support owed?
99In jurisdictions following the percentage-of-obligor’s-income approach to calculating child-support obligations, how is the obligor parent’s child-...
100Under the Melson formula, will parents whose income is below a threshold set by state law owe any child support?
101May a court deviate from state guidelines in setting a child-support obligation?
102May a court take into account factors such as a child’s unusual expenses in determining whether to deviate from the presumptive child-support amoun...
103May a court order for alimony or maintenance be modified after the completion of a divorce?
104To justify modifying an alimony award based on a substantial change in circumstances, do states typically require that the change in circumstances ...
105To justify modifying a child-support award based on a substantial change in circumstances, do states typically require that the change in circumsta...
106For both alimony and child support, will a court generally refuse to grant a downward modification of the original award if the substantial change ...
107May a child-support defendant’s voluntary reduction in income result in the court assigning an imputed income to the defendant?
108In states that follow the UMDA, is an alimony-recipient spouse’s cohabitation with another person an independent reason to modify an alimony award?
109A man and woman were recently divorced. The man got a court order against the woman for maintenance. The state followed the UMDA. Two years later, ...
110If a state utilizes the income-shares model for calculating the parents’ child-support obligations, will one parent’s substantial increase in incom...
111A man and woman had two children from their former marriage. The man’s income was so high that it was beyond the state’s child-support guidelines. ...
112May the court that awarded a support obligation use both civil and criminal enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the obligor complies with the award?
113May a child-support order issued by one state be enforced by another state?
114A mother and father were the parents of three minor children. The father had a child-support order from State A against the mother. The mother relo...
115Is there an automatic due-process right to counsel in civil contempt cases for child-support defendants?
116Can child-support or maintenance obligees seek to enforce payment from delinquent obligors by asking the court to withhold or seize different types...
117May a child-support defendant who is behind on his support payments be ordered to stop having children or else be incarcerated for his unpaid child...
118May a parent’s right to child custody or visitation be withheld due to an unpaid child-support obligation?
119Under the UMDA, may a court enforce a support or maintenance award by assigning a part of the obligor’s earnings to the alimony recipient?
120A mother and father were the divorced parents of one child. The father was ordered to pay child support to the mother, but the father refused to pa...
121A man and woman were divorced. The man was ordered to pay the woman alimony. The state had adopted the UMDA. The woman petitioned the state court t...
122Do some states authorize creative means of punishing or shaming parents who fail to pay child support?
123Are negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and collaborative divorce common methods of alternative dispute resolution used in divorce proceedings today?
124In a negotiation, do the parties directly discuss and agree between themselves to settle matters relating to their divorce?
125If the spouses appear before a neutral third party who facilitates their discussion but does not make any binding decision, which alternative dispu...
126What is the role of a mediator in a family-law dispute?
127Does it violate a party’s constitutional rights to disallow that party from cross-examining a mediator who testifies about the contents of a divorc...
128A husband and wife were divorcing in a state that had a statutory mediation requirement for divorces. The husband and wife participated in the requ...
129Is an arbitrator able to render a binding decision in a divorce matter?
130What is the unique characteristic of a collaborative divorce?
131What are the differences in the participants in a collaborative divorce and a mediated divorce?
132A husband and wife were divorcing. The state had adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act. The husband asked the wife to participate in a collabor...
133What is a separation agreement?
134Must a separation agreement be supported by consideration on both sides of the contract?
135Do general contract rules apply to a court’s determination of whether to enforce a separation agreement?
136Under the UMDA, are the terms of a separation agreement regarding maintenance and property division binding on the court unless the court finds tha...
137Under the UMDA, are the terms of a separation agreement regarding child support, custody, and visitation binding upon the court?
138May the spouses agree in a separation agreement to pay less than the relevant state guidelines would require in child support?
139How does a party to a divorce case enforce a separation agreement if the other party is not following the agreement?
140If a separation agreement is incorporated into a divorce decree, does it function as both a contract and a court order?
141Is a divorce case necessary for proceeding to court for review and enforcement of the terms of a separation agreement?
142A husband and wife sought a legal separation. The parties signed a separation agreement setting out the terms of their property division and statin...
143Are the property-division terms in a separation agreement modifiable?
144A husband and wife signed a marital-separation agreement, which was incorporated into their divorce decree. The agreement had a provision that the ...
145May the terms of child support or custody in a separation agreement always be modified later?
146What is required to invalidate a separation agreement in a divorce case?
All flashcards
146 cards