Deck 38: Marriage, Divorce, and Dissolution of Marriage

Question 1

What term describes a written agreement in consideration of marriage?

A) Prenuptial
B) Premarital
C) Antenuptial
D) All of the above

Answer 1

All of the above

Question 2

A written agreement in consideration of marriage belongs to what type of legal documents?

A) Promissory note
B) Contract
C) Deed
D) Charitable subscription

Answer 2

Contract

Question 3

What is a common element of a written agreement if consideration of marriage?

A) Each spouse's right to property brought into the marriage
B) Each spouse's right to travel abroad
C) Each spouse's right to vacation alone
D) Each spouse's right to engage in extreme sports

Answer 3

Each spouse's right to property brought into the marriage

Question 4

What term describes the mutual rights and privileges of co-habitation, sexual relations, and companionship?

A) Matrimonial rights
B) Connubial rights
C) Conjugal rights
D) Marital rights

Question 5

What law allows a marriage by proxy?

A) State constitutions
B) Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act
C) Common law
D) Defense of Marriage Act

Question 6

What is a cause for divorce for covenant marriage spouses?

A) Domestic violence
B) Adultery
C) Felony with incarceration
D) All of the above

Question 7

What term describes public notice of a marriage contract?

A) Marriage banns
B) Banns of matrimony
C) All of the above
D) None of the above

Question 8

In what state has the highest court's decision lead to the recognized validity of same-sex marriages?

A) Maryland
B) Massachusetts
C) Minnesota
D) Michigan

Question 9

What was the U.S. Supreme Court's argument against the Defense of Marriage Act?

A) It violates the 1st Amendment
B) It violates the 4th Amendment
C) It violates the 14th Amendment
D) All of the above

Question 10

What situation contains a ground for annulment?

A) Barb and Steve married as a joke
B) Barb, being pregnant by George, married Steve
C) Steve used threats to force Barb to marry him
D) All of the above

Question 11

What term describes a judge's power to make decisions based on his or her own judgment?

A) Discretion
B) Partition
C) Recusal
D) Nonfeasance

Question 12

What term describes the discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses?

A) Separation of spouses
B) Limited divorce
C) Divorce from bed and board
D) All of the above

Question 13

If a couple has minor children, what will a separation order include?

A) Temporary measures for support
B) Temporary measures for custody
C) All of the above
D) None of the above

Question 14

What state first enacted a no-fault divorce?

A) California
B) Hawaii
C) Oklahoma
D) Wyoming

Question 15

What is a common legal ground for a no-fault divorce?

A) Arguments
B) Irretrievable breakdown
C) Difference in political affiliations
D) Low income

Question 16

In California, what is a requirement to be divorced under summary dissolution procedure?

A) Having no children
B) Being married less than 5 years
C) Owing less than $41,000 worth of community property
D) All of the above

Question 17

In years past, what tort action could be brought by one spouse against a third party who committed adultery with another spouse?

A) Illegal conversation
B) Unlawful conversation
C) Criminal conversation
D) Immoral conversation

Question 18

What action was abolished by heart balm statutes?

A) Loss of consortium
B) Breach of promise to marry
C) Alienation of affections
D) All of the above

Question 19

In many states, what is a common ground for divorce?

A) Cruel and inhuman treatment
B) Extreme and repeated cruelty
C) Intolerable cruelty
D) All of the above

Question 20

In some states, what automatically dissolves the marriage without further legal process?

A) Desertion
B) Life imprisonment
C) Impotence
D) Nonsupport

Question 21

A prenuptial agreement takes effect before marriage.

Question 22

Parties can draft and sign a prenuptial agreement without attorney involvement.

Question 23

Usually, covenant marriage spouses can divorce only after a two-year separation.

Question 24

To qualify as common law married, the couple has to continuously cohabit as common law spouses for at least a year.

Question 25

Vermont became the first state to recognize same-sex marriage.

Question 26

California's domestic partners law is a variation of the laws regarding civil union.

Question 27

Lack of marital intent is a ground for annulment.

Question 28

At common law, the marriage of a girl under 12 was voidable.

Question 29

A legal separation formalizes the disintegration of the legal union.

Question 30

A legal separation is impossible if the couple have minor children.

Question 31

Colorado was the first state to enact no-fault divorce in 1970.

Question 32

If divorcing spouses have a prenuptial agreement, they may avoid the effects of community property laws.

Question 33

Mental suffering that impairs the spouse's health can be a ground for divorce.

Question 34

In many states, nonsupport is available only to the wife as a ground for divorce.

Question 35

In all states, a felony conviction is a ground for divorce.

Question 36

To satisfy states' statute of ________, a premarital agreement must be in writing.

Question 37

Many states require marriages to be ________ that is, performed in a ceremonial fashion in the presence of witnesses.

Question 38

A marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license is called a(n) ________ law marriage.

Question 39

In 1996, President Clinton signed the ________ of Marriage Act.

Question 40

There are two ways to dissolve a marriage - by divorce or by ________.

Question 41

A marriage of a person below the age of ________ can be annulled.

Question 42

Without going as far as a divorce, a legal ________ formalizes the termination of marital cohabitation.

Question 43

Property acquired by a husband or wife during marriage is called ________ property.

Question 44

All states enacted statutes to provide for a(n) ________ divorce.

Question 45

Willful and malicious interference with the marriage relation by a third party without justification or excuse is called ________ of affections.

Question 46

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Reconciliation

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 47

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-To cohabit

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 48

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Antenuptial agreement

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 49

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Age of consent

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 50

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Breach of promise to marry

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 51

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Divorce

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 52

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Polygamy

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 53

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Common law marriage

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 54

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Limited divorce

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 55

Match the terms with their descriptions:

-Annulment

A) Action by a court of terminating a valid marriage
B) To live together
C) Marriage between more than two spouses
D) Marriage without a formal ceremony or marriage license
E) Discontinuance of cohabitation by the spouses
F) Written contract made in contemplation of marriage between prospective spouses
G) Renewal of amicable relations
H) Breaking off the engagement
I) The age at which one may be married under state law
J) Judicial declaration that no valid marriage ever existed

Question 56

Define the term "marriage"
and common law marriage. Identify legal rights of married people. Discuss requirements of common law marriage.

Question 57

Define an annulment of marriage. Identify under what circumstances an annulment is allowed.

Question 58

Define a legal separation of spouses. Identify the basics of a legal separation.

Question 59

Wendy found out that her husband Tom has committed adultery with Nancy. Discuss what legal recourse would be available for Wendy in years past and what recourse is available for her today.

Question 60

Diana and Harold live in California. They have been married for 4 years and have no children. During their marriage, Diana bought a boat, and Harold bought a farm. Before marriage, Diana owned a restaurant. During their marriage, Harold inherited $50,000. Discuss how they can obtain a divorce and how their property will be divided.