1. LAWN666 Family Law
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Chapter 5
Changes In The Culture Of Divorce
Divorce changes started in north america, during the american revolution, where personal
liberty contributed to different views on marital vows. Traditionally divorce cases were
based on evidence of physical abuse and adultery. However, lawyers became creative in the
interpretation of the law with time which led to the adoption of omnibus clauses that allow
courts to give verdicts on divorce-related cases on its best judgment. While using the fault-
based filing in divorce laws in 1800 -the 1900s, divorce cases continued to rise and caused
various issues such as the clean hands' doctrine meaning the party filing the divorce could
not have contributed to the annulment of the marriage. It led to a fault–based issues
in illinois whereby the judges accepted evidence from other people saying they had seen
physical marks on abused parties, this would have been regarded as 'hear say' in the
current courtrooms as there is no proof at the time of the hearing.
The introduction of family law in california, enhanced 'irreconcilable differences' making a
way for the Common Law based on no-fault divorce laws used in most countries in the
world.
Legal approaches for appropriately altering the marital status
According to family law for one to appropriately alter marriage through divorce one needs
to;
Prepare an original divorce petition
Prepare temporary divorce orders
Divorce discovery mechanisms
Mediation for the divorce

2. Divorce court if mediation fails
Bifurcated divorce is granted by the court before resolving economic challenges that are
associated with the divorce. It is occurs based on three grounds
A fault divorce is very expensive
Where both parties give consent of their affidavit files
Parties agree to live 'separate and apart
Divorce dispute resolutions
Mediation – it is also referred to as facilitation as control of the results is based on the
parties
Arbitration – through this process parties involved are not allowed to make any decision
Conciliation- in this process a positive bond is created amongst parties in dispute, it is
normally applied in consumer and labour disputes.
Neutral evaluation- parties present their cases and evidence to a neutral party that gives
insights on the strengths and weaknesses of each party and predicts the results.
Settlement conferences- depending on the judge the settlement meetings are voluntary or
compulsory. In this case, the referee who is the judge does not make the decision he or she
advises the parties on the best way to settle their issues until they reach an agreement.
Community dispute resolution committee-this programs are designed to handle very
privately and public issues but are cheaper than the court processes
Personal jurisdiction -this is the power that the court has on a defendant as a person
compared to the defendant's interest in a property
Rem jurisdiction –this is an action taken by the court regarding a defendant’s property.
The primary difference between fault and no-fault grounds for divorce
No-fault is a divorce where the spouse filing the divorce has no charges or evident reasons
over his or her partner an example is a divorce based on irreconcilable differences, the
party receiving the petition cannot object to it and both spouses are supposed to be
separated before the petition is filed. While a fault divorce involves a partner petitioning the
other party based on faults such as adultery, life imprisonment, abandonment for a long

3. time, and many others.
Potential defenses to a divorce action
Connivance- this is where there is evidence of a set -up from one of the parties
Condonation-in this case the petitioning party knew about their partner's unacceptable
behaviors but forgave and pursued the marriage.
Recrimination- this is when both parties are viable to charges included in the petition.
Provocation-this is when one spouse forces his or her partner to commit an unacceptable
act that brings forth the petition
Collusion-this is a result of fabricating basis or reasons to be divorced.
Nature and purpose of a complaint
A complaint is a request or a plead that initiates a case.
The claimant initiates a court process by pleading a complaint, which contains all the
claimant's demands against a respondent and must state the compensations the claimant's
demand. After stating the respondent must answer acceptance or denial of the claims.
Primary ways of serving process and describe the nature and purpose of the long-arm
statute
A long-term statute gives the court a chance to get personal jurisdiction over a claimant
who is out-of-state on the grounds of particular actions made by a claimant out-of-state as
long as the claimant maintains enough connection with the state.
A court is said to have a long-arm jurisdiction when it receives jurisdiction due to a long-
arm statute. The process through which a lawsuit party provides a suitable notice of
beginning a legal procedure to another party, or an administrative body in the process of
applying a jurisdiction over a person to compel him or her to attend to a court or tribunal
proceedings.
2 common responses of the defendant to an action for divorce indicate the differences
between them
Objection response- if a defendant objects to a divorce order presented to him or her by the
partner, the defendant might win or lose the judge determines the case based on the
evidence available. This is referred to as a contested proceeding.

4. No response- it is also a response whereby the proceedings are referred to as uncontested
proceedings and the judge rules according to the information presented to him or her.
Nature And Purpose Of Temporary Orders
Temporary orders attend to immediate requirements before entering a final order to a case.
They offer guiding directions in uncertain legal matters.
Motions filed in divorce actions while the litigation is pending
Emergency motions
Preliminary lite motions
Utilization of discoveries and evidence motion
Motion of deposition
Creating a basis for post-trial motions
Ex-parte
This is an order made while one of the parties is not aware. They offer immediate relief
temporary when it is not feasible to provide a notice of a scheduled hearing.
The Primary Purpose Of Discovery
A discovery or discoveries ensure that before going on trial all parties comprehend fully the
issues and facts purposed for the lawsuit.
Nature And Purpose Of A Separation Agreement
This is a document that marriage partners apply while separating their properties and
commitments while prefacing a permanent separation or divorce. It involves terms such as
children custody, parental commitments, spousal responsibilities, properties, and debts
Documents Prepared In Anticipation Of Trial
Standardization test documents
Practical imputation documents

5. The decision of the second circuit
Kinds of divorce-related to legal proceedings brought past divorce
Contested divorce
Summary divorce
Collaborative divorce
Default divorce
The role of the paralegal in the various stages of the divorce process
A paralegal prepares legal documents for the court for divorce and separation
Under lawyers supervision paralegals conducts legal research
A paralegal conducts interviews as divorce cases take much time to speak with the client
They assist in making courts schedules and appointments
They also take the role of helping a lawyer in the divorce court
Chapter 6
Formal And Informal Discovery
Formal discovery is a process that is regulated by common law and statute. An example of
formal discovery requests for producing documents. While informal discovery involves the
exchange of information between an attorney and the parties involved in discovery without
filling or serving formal requests on either party.
Formal Discovery Method
Interrogatories- they are written questions answered through writing under an oath
Depositions-both parties answer verbally under an oath and they must pay the court
reporter for attending the hearing and transcribing
Subpoenas duces tecum- they are mostly used when getting medical records, bank records,
and school records
Requests for production and inspection documents used in the corporate sector

6. Strengths and weaknesses of each of the formal discovery methods
Interrogatories- strengths are; they are cheap, they can be used to design other discovery
requests, they enhance an efficient way for witness identification. Weaknesses are only
applicable in parties and not third persons and they may offer very little and significantly
damaging pieces of information.
Strengths of depositions are they involve third persons, and it is easy and fast to obtain
information since they are answered orally unlike the wring methods, it is also easy to
assess the sincerity of the respondent under an oath weaknesses include; they are costly,
they do not protect the identity of the disposing part’s theory and they pave a way for
negotiations and trial.
Strengths of requests for the production of documents are that they are both useable by
both parties and third witnesses, it is easy to obtain critical information from employers
and other crucial entities. Its weakness is that it is time-consuming.
Objections that can be made to discovery requests
Objections to discoveries
Disputes of discovery
Nature and purpose of financial statements/affidavits
Affidavits are used by corporates and businesses to issue statements that might be required
by others they are applied as pieces of evidence in criminal prosecutions and civil actions.
Examples include statements of financial stability
Ways of concealing assets
Use of virtual private network
Application of informal value transfer systems
How to detect them.
Demanding documents through an attorney
Writing requests for admissions
Inspecting demand

7. Giving testimonies under oath
E-discovery- this refers to the initial period of litigation in which all parties must provide to
each other all pieces of proof that are significant to the case file. Legal examples include; cad
and cam files e-mails, databases, and websites.
Significance of social networking sites in the family law context
Helps attorneys and judges to collect evidence
Protects customers from themselves
Use of easy soft legal soft wares to preserve social media evidence
Role of the paralegal in the discovery process
Paralegals audit imminent discovery requests
Personal and attorney's record-keeping
Preparation of initial draft discoveries for attorney’s review
Court roles in the discovery process.
Ensuring exchange of information between parties
Enabling the parties to be aware of the evidence that will be presented
Chapter 7
Determinants of legal parentage
The signing of a legal declaration
Court orders through the help of a local children support agency
Court presumptions
Examples of parenthood through adjudication
A father who has been determined by the court as the father through a judicial process and
has proceeded to paternity judgment.

8. When a child has adjudicated dependent the court orders various services for the child
while evaluating drugs and mental disorders for parents
The process of adjudicating paternity
Contact a local attorney
Filing a petition
Hearing of a pre-trial order by the court
Testing of genetics
Equitable parental doctrine allows a parent that is not related biologically to a child of their
partner but has formed a healthy bond should be regarded as a parent
Resolving surrogate disputes
Maternity tests
Infertility tests
Posthumous reproduction is the process through which assisted reproduction is used to
develop pregnancy and create biological offspring after the demise of a parent. This is made
possible by retrieving a person's eggs or sperm shortly after their death.
Ways in which gays and lesbians can become legal parents
Adaption
Co-parenting
Surrogacy
Donor insemination and
Foster care
Chapter 9
Types of custody

9. Physical custody
Joint custody
Legal custody
Sole custody
Grandparent custody and visitation
Child custodial awards
Maternal and tender year’s doctrine award
Connecticut
Uccjea and pjpa
The uniform child custody jurisdiction and enforcement act- its basis for jurisdiction is
created on the grounds of which state should determine a contest in custody.
The parental kidnapping prevention act is a federal law and its basis are formed on
ensuring that the home state is the only state to give jurisdiction exclusively
Hague's convention in custody cases is to safeguard harmful impacts of global abduction by
a parent by facilitating the instant restoration of children who have been abducted to their
home countries
Hoe standards for evolving custody awards
Social factors such as race and gender orientation
Adoption
Termination of parent’s rights
Jurisdictions and courts
Parental kidnapping
Custody termination
Gender-neutral standards

10. Sexual neutral standards are only observed where there is no abuse if the child custodian is
of the opposite sex with the child and they have developed a bond strong healthy bond then
the parent retains the custody. I do not agree that custody decisions are sexually neutral
because a homosexual couple can only be granted the right to custody of a child of a specific
age. Men have also been deprived of the custody of their children for a certain age limit
which does not apply to women. They are granted full custody of babies regardless of their
age until the child is of a certain age to decide who he/she want to be with.
When there are disagreements on the primary caretaker of the child the court normally
grants the custody to the person who has spent most of the time taking care of the child
from. This is because he or she can take care of the child in the right way, and has taken time
to know each other better.
The majority position would be based on the age of the child for very young children
availability would have the majority followed by stability is the custodian able to provide
basic needs for the child, and others vary depending on the age of the
Visitation is a checkup granted by the court to an interested party, usually the secondary
custodian. Supervised is where the primary custodian is required to observe the visitation
with the help of an officer while unsupervised the child is free to be with however is visiting
them. The common visitation schedule is during the weekends or holidays and there is an
agreement for the period it will last as long as the child is comfortable. It can also be online
through skype and other media where they can see each other talk and maybe bond.
Parenting Plan
It is applicable for parents that do not live together they agree on sharing the responsibility
of bringing up their child together while living separately.
Guardian ad litem (gal) functions as the investigator for the court. She researches all aspects
of case records forms a report on the findings and gives recommendations to the court on
the next suitable action or judgment it should make.
Roles of a paralegal in a custody case
Lighting and organizing courts timeline
Researching and investigating
Facilitating teamwork
Chapter 10

11. Child policy
Child support is temporarily paid in various states to help poor families parents pay
through child support executive expenditure and (tanf) temporary assistance for needy
families this policy is advantageous to taxpayers
Termination of child support payment- occurs when the child reaches majority age or when
a minor is emancipated
Child support is paid for the benefit of any child not necessary the once under one’s custody
to help them access basic needs while spousal support is paid as alimony to support a
marriage partner.
Iv-d agencies- means a particular independent organizational sector within the government
that is responsible for monitoring the implementation of iv-d plans
Importance of child support guidelines
Helps to decrease poverty levels
Reduces the costs of future economic-factors
Three types of income in child support
Trust income
Gross income
Capital gains
Modification of child support
Filing a change request with the court and providing evidence on why the modification is
necessary.
Extraordinary expense-these are expenses that are paid for as a result of an illness,
disability, or education and enjoyment for your child especially if the child spends the most
time with you. It is usually higher than basic expenses catered for by the child support
charges. Collaborative lawyers help to determine which expenses are necessary and
reasonable depending on one's situation
Cost Of Higher Education For Children

12. The following factors are some of the factors considered
Possibility of a parent living with child influencing the cots requested
Child’s contribution in the process of acquiring education cost
Parent’s ability to pay the cost
Availability of financial resources and many others
Methods of enforcing child support obligations
Income tax refunds
Securities and bonds
Reporting through the credit bureau
Levies and liens
Denial of license benefits
Tax implications on child support
All payments made for child support are taxable income. Child support payments can be
deducted by neither the payer nor the payee tax system.
Drafting of child support provisions a paralegal should include;
Which parent is taking custody of the child?
Visitation schedules
Issues related to religion should be addressed
A clause that guides the parents on making changes of the agreement of child’s custody
Chapter 11
Alimony is payment made by one spouse for the other. It is usually meant for helping out a
partner whose marriage did not work out

13. Premarital influence on alimony
No law obligates spouses to commit to each other based on their agreement and plans
before marriage.
Orr decision- it enhances gender equality by making the liability of alimony to be offered by
either the wife or the husband. Before it, only the husbands could pay alimony for the wife
but not vice versa.
Reimbursement alimony- is the type of alimony granted to a spouse that supported their
partner to achieve a higher education during their marriage.
Alimony determinants
Future financial capabilities
Living standards
Physical and mental health
Termination of alimony obligations
When the partner being supported gets married to another person even though the paying
party must file a petition for termination.
If the supported partner dies
If the supported partner pardons the paying partner by filing a motion with evidence
Basic tax rule applicability
The party receiving the alimony payment does not have to report it as income but the party
paying has got a right to claim it
Bankruptcy treatment
The husband is expected to provide for his wife and children solely in common law, even if
bankrupt, he must find a way to meet his share of child support responsibility and for
alimony, it could be exempted if the partner is stable.
Chapter 12
Phrases of the property division process

14. Property identification
Classification
Value
Equitable division
Change of property ownership in marital status
Commingling separate properties with other marital properties
Transmutation
Separate property is the assets acquired when there was no marriage and is solely owned
by one partner while marriage property is the asset acquired during marriage when both
spouses were together and during separation, it should be divided between them.
The majority of treatment of disability, professional degree, personal injury, and the others
depends on the valuation in terms of time and money.
Valuation is the process of evaluating the cost of properties acquired. During separation and
divorce valuation is necessary so that both parties get an equal share of their assets.
Active appreciation means that a property has grown its value due to the contribution of
both parties while passive appreciation is the growth of assets due to other factors such as
market forces
Property division methods
Common law property distribution
Equitable distribution
Personal property
The community approach states that there is an automatic 50/50 division of all assets
acquired during the marriage, while inequitable divisions more properties may be
evaluated as marital assets but division must not be 50/50
Factors considered by the court during property division

15. The age factor of each spouse
Physical and mental health for both parties
Standard of living obtained in marriage
Each party’s income capacity
Value of assets in marital homes
Consequences of tax
Qdro-qualified domestic relation order
It is an order that acknowledges the availability of other payees that are eligible to receive a
benefit portion that can be paid in respect to a specific retirement plan.
Tax issues related to property distribution
Division of marital assets
Distribution of equitable states
States of community properties
Functions of a paralegal in division cases
Scheduling attorneys calendars and appointments
Preparation of drafts for the motions
Conducting legal research
Liaising between the clients and the attorney
Chapter 13
Separation Agreement
This is an agreement written and signed willingly between spouses without involving the
court. It creates time for partners to take sometimes away from each other while working to
repair an almost breaking marriage.
Characteristics of an effective separation agreement

16. Arrangements of children management
House agreement terms
Reasonable individual effects
Financial property management
Payments of lump-sum
Roles of a paralegal in separation agreements
Liaising between the clients and the attorney
Preparation of drafts for the motions
Scheduling attorneys calendars and appointments
Conducting legal researches
Boiler place is a standard clause that is usually located at the bottom section of a contract. It
includes conditions that must be adhered to, the date of contract termination, and how the
disputes were resolved
Topics addressed in a separation agreement
Real assets, cars, houses, financial accounts, houses, and children.
A severability clause is a provision in a legal agreement that declares that if some
statements are accounted for illegally or not enforceable there should be created a
reminder.
Factors considered by courts in the separation agreement
Accommodation
Finances
Lifestyle and its effects on other members of the family
Conduct

17. Children’s welfare