NALA Family Law & Domestic Relations 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination?
- The state where the child currently resides
- The child's home state, where the child lived for 6 months before proceedings (Correct answer)
- The state where either parent resides
- The state where the divorce was granted
Correct answer: The child's home state, where the child lived for 6 months before proceedings
The UCCJEA grants jurisdiction to the child's home state, defined as where the child lived with a parent for at least 6 consecutive months immediately before the proceeding.
Question 2: A legal assistant is preparing a marital settlement agreement. Which provision addresses how property acquired AFTER the divorce will be treated?
- Division of marital assets clause
- Non-merger clause
- Indemnification clause
- Future acquisitions clause (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Future acquisitions clause
A future acquisitions clause specifies that property each party acquires after the divorce is their separate property and not subject to division.
Question 3: In an annulment proceeding, a marriage is declared void ab initio when:
- One spouse was under the influence of alcohol at the ceremony
- The marriage was never consummated
- One spouse was already legally married at the time of the ceremony (Correct answer)
- The parties married without parental consent
Correct answer: One spouse was already legally married at the time of the ceremony
Bigamy renders a marriage void ab initio (void from the beginning) because it violates a fundamental legal prohibition, not merely a procedural requirement.
Question 4: When calculating child support under the Income Shares Model used by most states, the court considers:
- Only the non-custodial parent's gross income
- The combined gross income of both parents proportionally (Correct answer)
- The custodial parent's income minus childcare expenses
- Only the custodial parent's needs-based assessment
Correct answer: The combined gross income of both parents proportionally
The Income Shares Model combines both parents' incomes to determine a total support obligation, then allocates each parent's share proportionally to their income.
Question 5: A prenuptial agreement provision waiving all future spousal support is most likely to be found unenforceable if:
- It was signed more than one year before the wedding
- The waiving spouse will be left dependent on public assistance (Correct answer)
- It was not reviewed by the same attorney for both parties
- The agreement was not notarized
Correct answer: The waiving spouse will be left dependent on public assistance
Courts often void spousal support waivers in prenuptial agreements when enforcement would leave one spouse impoverished and reliant on public benefits, as this is contrary to public policy.
Question 6: Which doctrine allows a court to modify a property settlement incorporated into a divorce decree when circumstances have substantially changed?
- Res judicata
- Equitable modification (Correct answer)
- Merger doctrine
- Laches
Correct answer: Equitable modification
Equitable modification allows courts to revisit property settlements when a substantial, material change in circumstances makes enforcement unconscionable, though this is narrowly applied.
Question 7: Under the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (PKPA), a state must give full faith and credit to another state's custody order when:
- The child has lived in the enforcing state for at least 30 days
- The issuing state exercised jurisdiction consistent with the PKPA's provisions (Correct answer)
- Both parents consent to enforcement
- The child is under age 14
Correct answer: The issuing state exercised jurisdiction consistent with the PKPA's provisions
The PKPA requires states to enforce another state's custody order only when that state had and properly exercised jurisdiction consistent with the Act's requirements.
NALA Family Law & Domestic Relations 2
Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which state has jurisdiction to make an initial child custody determination?