Deck 9: Family Law

Question 1

It is permissible for states to enact laws that require stepparents and/or grandparents to provide child support if parents are unable to fulfill court-ordered support obligations.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In voluntary adoptions when the birth parents are not married to each other and both parents have actively fulfilled their parental responsibilities, only one parent's approval is required for the adoption to go forward.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Generally, states require that people marry voluntarily, and jointly apply for a license.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

All states now have some form of no-fault divorce.

Question 5

The states can initiate legal proceedings to involuntarily terminate the parental rights of birth parents who have abandoned their child.

Question 6

Because a marriage is a contract, the general laws of contract regarding modifications, restrictions, and release apply to it in most states.

Question 7

The eligibility requirements for marriage are the same from state to state.

Question 8

In states with equitable property distribution, property is categorized as marital or separate property.

Question 9

Some states have enacted laws that express a preference that adoptive parents must be of the same religion as the adoptee or birth parents.

Question 10

In which of the following situations has the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that states may NOT prohibit marriages?

A) Marriages between siblings
B) Marriages between persons of the same gender
C) Marriages involving persons who are already married
D) Marriages between persons of different races

Question 11

Marriage eligibility requirements generally include

A) minimum age thresholds.
B) prohibitions on marriage between close relatives.
C) monogamy.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 12

A legal separation is legally the same as an annulment.

Question 13

Same-sex couples who are married in Massachusetts or who receive marriage-like state economic benefits under state law qualify for federal economic benefits that are extended to married heterosexual couples.

Question 14

Many states statutorily require adult children to provide financial support for their parents if the parents are unable to support themselves.

Question 15

Today a pregnant woman has the right to unilaterally decide to have an abortion early in her pregnancy even if the person who would become the child's father objects.

Question 16

The laws deference to family self-governance has roots traceable to Roman law.

Question 17

The right to marry is constitutionally protected by which clause(s) of the Fourteenth Amendment?

A) The Privileges and Immunities Clause
C) The Fundamental Fairness Clause
B) The Due Process Clause
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 18

The city of East Cleveland had a municipal ordinance that regulated who could live together as a family in a single-family dwelling unit.Inez Moore, an elderly grandmother, was convicted of violating the ordinance because she had two grandsons who were cousins living in the same house with her, and that living arrangement could not be considered a single family under the definition of family in the ordinance.She appealed her conviction on constitutional grounds.Which of the following statements is true?

A) As long as the ordinance was properly passed by the appropriate legislative body in East Cleveland, the judiciary cannot review her conviction.
B) The city's restrictive definition of family may violate Mrs.Moore's substantive due process rights.
C) Any rights of the individual with respect to family matters are not expressly included in the Bill of Rights and, as a result, cannot be made a part of due process.
D) Such a narrow definition of family is made mandatory under federal statutory law, the primary legislation that regulates family matters.

Question 19

Common reasons for annulment include bigamy, incest, fraud, and religious concerns.

Question 20

Families are generally created through

A) marriage.
C) domestic partnerships.
B) birth or adoption.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 21

Grandparents have

A) just as much right to legal visitation as parents.
B) less right to visitation than parents.
C) uncertain rights to visitation.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 22

What factors are necessary to establish a common law marriage?

A) Living together, jointly owning property, and having a child
B) Being of age, having a joint checking account, and joint bills
C) Being of age, living together as a couple, and presenting themselves to the world as being married
D) Exchanging vows, joint ownership of property, and having a child

Question 23

Foster care

A) is mandated by law prior to an effective adoption by prospective parents.
B) is designed to provide temporary care for children.
C) strives to sever parental ties and find appropriate substitute (adoptive) parents for neglected and abandoned children.
D) is primarily regulated by federal law.

Question 24

The purpose of solemnization is to

A) demonstrate a mutual desire for marriage.
B) provide public evidence of a marriage.
C) demonstrate a satisfaction of legal requirements.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 25

When married people decide to live apart to try to work out their differences, they might get a(n) _____.

A) annulment
B) legal separation
C) dissolution
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 26

The recognition of a valid marriage by a state usually requires

A) a license to marry.
C) Both A and B are correct.
B) a civil or religious solemnization ceremony.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 27

Andrea Moorehead was abandoned by her birth mother, a crack-cocaine user who had tested positive for venereal disease, shortly after birth.Andrea was placed with foster parents when she was nine days old.The foster parents, Melva and Robert Dearth, sought to adopt Andrea when she was 10 months old.The Dearths are white and Andrea is black.They live in an interracial neighborhood, they attend an interracial church, and their two children attend an interracial school.They have a stable marriage and financial standing.Which of the following factors may not be considered in determining whether the Dearth's may adopt Andrea?

A) Their race
C) Their age
B) The stability of their marriage
D) All of the above may be considered.

Question 28

A common law marriage is

A) privately created.
C) recognized in all 50 states.
B) properly licensed.
D) All of the above are correct.

Question 29

If a woman made homemaking her career with the expectation that her husband would take care of her, she should request

A) bifurcation.
C) rehabilitative alimony.
B) permanent alimony.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 30

An annulment is different from a divorce in that it

A) does not require grounds for the dissolution of the marriage.
B) has the same effect as a legal separation and does not end the marriage.
C) is used more frequently than divorce is used to terminate marriages.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 31

Which of the following factors should not be considered by a judge in making a determination as to which parent in a divorce should have custody of their child?

A) Parental misconduct
B) Gender
C) Employment stability
D) Parental ability to provide for the child's needs

Question 32

Traditionally divorce was

A) much harder to get than today.
B) much easier to get than today.
C) No easier or harder than it is to get today.
D) In some ways it was easier but in other ways it was harder to get than today.

Question 33

If children always fail to obey their parents, the parents can

A) request a dissolution
B) ends when the child attains the age of majority, marries, or otherwise becomes emancipated.
C) does not terminate until the child graduates from college.
D) does not exist if the child was conceived as the result of rape.

Question 34

Which of the following is the first step required to start the adoption process?

A) Obtaining the consent of the birth parents of foster parents
B) The filing of an investigative request
C) The approval of a consent decree
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 35

A payor of alimony may petition the court for a reduced payment obligation; for example,

A) because the payer has been hospitalized for six months.
B) due to payer's unemployment.
C) because the payee has won the lottery.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 36

A court has jurisdiction to grant a divorce if

A) there is in personam jurisdiction over the person required to make alimony or child support payments.
B) a child is attending school in the state.
C) either party requests the court to take the case.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 37

Which of the following states has not recognized same-sex marriages?

A) Connecticut
C) Iowa
B) Vermont
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 38

With respect to decision making within traditional families, which of the following statements is false?

A) A husband may not veto a decision by his wife to obtain an abortion in early pregnancy.
B) Spouses may not be compelled to testify against his or her spouse about confidential communications that transpired during the marriage in a criminal trial.
C) A married woman has the right to retain her own surname.
D) Married women's property requires the signature of a woman's husband before real property may be transferred, even if it is owned solely by the wife.

Question 39

Preferred-custody statutes

A) codify the tender years doctrine.
B) mandate joint custody as a matter of law.
C) establish guidelines for the judge to use in determining what custody arrangement would be in the best interest of the child.
D) prohibit the future modification of the original custody decision.

Question 40

A parents' legal obligation to support a child

A) ends on the dissolution of the marriage for the noncustodial parent.
B) initiate a CHINS proceeding
C) request a legal separation
D) do nothing-this is not a matter for the courts

Question 41

Explain the general steps needed for a couple to legally begin a marriage.

Question 42

Lisa and Norman met, began dating, and became parents of Patrick.It is undisputed that Norman was the child's father.At no time did Lisa and Norman ever cohabit or intend to marry.Patrick has lived with Lisa and Lisa's mother, Catherine, in the maternal grandmother's home since his birth.Norman has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and has been violent toward Lisa.He is presently incarcerated for aggravated assault.Norman's mother, Darlene, the child's paternal grandmother, has petitioned the court for visitation rights with Patrick.Darlene visited Patrick every day at the time of his birth and has continued to see him whenever possible.She had given him presents and demonstrated love and affection for the child.Darlene has filed suit because Lisa and her mother have stopped allowing visitation with Patrick.Should Darlene have legally recognizable visitation rights with Patrick?

Question 43

Explain the general steps needed for a couple to legally end a marriage.