Family Law & Domestic Relations Flashcards

A parent seeking to modify a permanent custody order must typically show:

Answer: A substantial change in circumstances and that modification serves the child's best interests

Courts require a material change in circumstances since the last order plus a best-interests showing to protect stability.

Under the federal Bradley Amendment, past-due child support installments:

Answer: Become judgments by operation of law and cannot be retroactively modified

The Bradley Amendment (42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(9)) makes each installment a vested judgment, allowing modification only prospectively from the date of a modification petition.

In Palmore v. Sidoti, the Supreme Court held that a custody award may not be changed based on:

Answer: Private racial biases the child might face due to the mother's interracial remarriage

Palmore held that the Equal Protection Clause forbids giving effect to private racial prejudice in custody decisions.

Under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, a wrongfully removed child is generally:

Answer: Returned to the country of habitual residence, subject to narrow exceptions like grave risk

The Convention's remedy is prompt return to the habitual residence so that country decides custody, with limited defenses such as grave risk of harm.

The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA) primarily requires states to:

Answer: Give full faith and credit to custody determinations made consistently with its jurisdictional standards

The PKPA, 28 U.S.C. § 1738A, mandates full faith and credit for conforming custody orders and prioritizes home-state jurisdiction.

A custodial parent proposes relocating out of state with the child. Most jurisdictions today evaluate the request by:

Answer: Weighing factors such as the move's purpose, the child's relationships, and best interests

Relocation statutes and case law generally apply a multifactor best-interests analysis, often with notice requirements.

Under most state child support guidelines, a court may impute income to a parent who:

Answer: Is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed

Courts may attribute earning capacity to a parent who voluntarily reduces income to avoid or lower support obligations.