LA Bar Family Law 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Louisiana's child support guidelines, the basic child support obligation is calculated based on:
- The non-custodial parent's net income alone
- The combined adjusted gross income of both parents (Correct answer)
- The custodial parent's demonstrated monthly expenses for the child
- The child's standard of living at the time the parents separated
Correct answer: The combined adjusted gross income of both parents
Louisiana uses an income shares model under La. R.S. 9:315, which bases child support on the combined adjusted gross income of both parents.
Question 2: Under Louisiana Children's Code art. 1015, which of the following is a statutory ground for involuntary termination of parental rights?
- A parent's chronic unemployment and inability to provide financial support
- A parent's conviction of first-degree murder of the child's other parent (Correct answer)
- A parent's relocation to another state without court approval
- A parent's refusal to participate in court-ordered mediation
Correct answer: A parent's conviction of first-degree murder of the child's other parent
La. Ch.C. art. 1015 lists conviction of certain crimes against family members, including murder of the other parent, as grounds for termination.
Question 3: In a Louisiana private adoption, which of the following is generally required before an adoption can proceed?
- Consent of the child's maternal grandparents
- Valid consent from each biological parent whose parental rights have not been terminated (Correct answer)
- Approval from the biological family's extended relatives
- A court-ordered home study only if the adoptive parent is single
Correct answer: Valid consent from each biological parent whose parental rights have not been terminated
Louisiana adoption law requires consent from each living parent whose parental rights have not been terminated prior to a private adoption.
Question 4: Under current Louisiana law, a child formally acknowledged by the father has inheritance rights from that father that are:
- Limited to one-half the share of a child born in marriage
- Equal to those of a child born in marriage (Correct answer)
- Available only in the absence of children born in marriage
- Recognized only if the acknowledgment was made before the child turned 5
Correct answer: Equal to those of a child born in marriage
Under Louisiana's revised filiation laws, an acknowledged child has the same inheritance rights as a child born in marriage.
Question 5: Under Louisiana's Covenant Marriage Act (La. R.S. 9:272), the pre-marital counseling required before entering a covenant marriage must be provided by:
- A licensed marriage and family therapist only
- A priest, minister, rabbi, or other clergy, or a secular marriage counselor (Correct answer)
- A court-appointed family mediator
- A social worker certified by the Louisiana Department of Health
Correct answer: A priest, minister, rabbi, or other clergy, or a secular marriage counselor
La. R.S. 9:272 requires pre-marital counseling from a religious officiant or a professional marriage counselor before entering a covenant marriage.
Question 6: Under Louisiana's community property regime, which of the following acquisitions during the marriage is the acquiring spouse's separate property?
- Property purchased with the proceeds from selling a community asset
- A cash gift donated by a third party to one spouse alone (Correct answer)
- Dividends from stock purchased with community funds
- A business interest developed through both spouses' efforts
Correct answer: A cash gift donated by a third party to one spouse alone
La. Civil Code art. 2341 classifies property received by a spouse by donation from a third party during the marriage as that spouse's separate property.
Question 7: Under Louisiana's community property regime, a debt contracted by one spouse during the marriage without the other's knowledge is:
- Always the sole personal obligation of the contracting spouse
- Presumed to be a community obligation (Correct answer)
- Chargeable only against the contracting spouse's separate property
- Void unless both spouses sign the underlying agreement
Correct answer: Presumed to be a community obligation
Under La. Civil Code art. 2360, obligations incurred by a spouse during the community regime are presumed to be community obligations.
LA Bar Family Law 3
Under Louisiana's child support guidelines, the basic child support obligation is calculated based on: