Exam 53: Family Law

________ is a law used by some states in which the court orders an equal division of marital property to the divorcing spouses.

Which of the following can lead to an annulment?

A common law marriage requires a marriage license to be considered valid.

What is a decree of divorce?

To obtain a no-fault divorce, a couple has to mandatorily prove ________.

To be enforced, a prenuptial agreement must be in writing.

Which of these legally binding documents are created before a marriage?

If a settlement agreement is not reached after mediation, the divorce case goes to trial.

A decree of divorce is an order of the court declaring that a marriage did not exist.

How is the division of debt conducted after a divorce?

A(n)________ is a written document signed by divorcing parties that evidences their agreement in the division of property, rights and duties, and other issues of their divorce.

Property owned by a spouse prior to marriage, as well as inheritances and gifts received by a spouse during the marriage are referred to as ________.

Parents have the right to use corporal punishment as long as it does not rise to the level of child abuse.

One of the parties being intoxicated at the time of marriage is grounds for a legal annulment.

In mediation, the divorcing couple is asked to sort out their issues on their own without any outside interference.

The Defense of Marriage Act provides that same-sex marriages solemnized in one state must be recognized in all other states.

Sally, who has been married to Colton for five years, is seeking a divorce. Colton has a drinking problem and he has been physically abusing Sally for the past two years. They have one child together who is recovering from an accident which was caused by Colton's tendency to drive while intoxicated. Colton was also negligent of the family in other areas and he often left Sally with no money to buy food, pay bills, or to take their child to a doctor. Upon receiving Sally's petition for divorce, Colton threatened Sally with dire consequences. At the court hearing, Sally and Colton decided to represent themselves as they could not afford to hire a lawyer. -The courts ordered Colton to pay 25 percent of his gross monthly income as child support.Additionally, the court ordered Colton's employer to automatically withhold 25 percent of his wages and send it to Sally as a check.This mode of providing alimony to Sally is stipulated by the ________.

A divorce is the only legal method of terminating a marriage.

Stan and Stella had promised to marry each other and signed a written contract stating their intentions.They planned to marry a year from the date of signing the contract.After the signing, Stan proposed to Stella and presented her with an engagement ring.However, two months before the marriage, Stan called off the engagement.If the state in which they reside follows the fault rule for breaking engagements, which of the following would be true?

In all child custody cases, only the custodial parent has the right to make decisions on behalf of the child.