FAMILY LAW
Professor Franks
Final Examination, Spring 2013
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
1. Carefully analyze the facts and grasp the issues in each question before beginning to
write. Spend time reading the question slowly and carefully.
2. State the issues and answers to each question concisely. Lengthy answers are not
necessary.
3. Do not repeat questions in your answers. Write neatly and legibly on only one side of
each page.
4. Number your answers to correspond with the question, e.g., "II-7."
5. Do not write in the margin of the book.
6. All questions are equally weighted unless otherwise indicated.
7. Write your personal identification number and the name and section number of the course
on which you are being examined on the cover of each examination book.
QUESTION I
40 per cent of test
I.
Please answer the following ten questions with "true" or "false." Discussion will not receive
extra credit.
1. In Louisiana, a person may be awarded final periodic spousal support only if the other
spouse is at fault.
2. A clergyman must register with the Clerk of Court in the parish in which he or she intends
to perform the marriage.
3. A custodial parent in Louisiana may not listen in upon, eavesdrop or tape record the
telephone conversations that his or her minor children have with another without first
telling at least one party to the conversation (the child or the other party).
4. No proxy marriages are ever recognized in Louisiana.
5. In Louisiana, continual bickering and fussing at one’s spouse for spending money on his or
her adult children by a prior marriage is fault precluding an award of final periodic spousal
support.
6.
A Louisianian under interdiction who wants a divorce can file only if his curator approves.
7. If persons simply cohabiting together in Louisiana have a child and the man feels it might
not be his, he has one year to file for disavowal after learning of the birth of the child.
8. If a person is sued for divorce in Louisiana on grounds of adultery and no spousal support
is claimed, and if two years later the plaintiff asks for final periodic spousal support, the
defendant may make a showing of mutual fault to prevent an award of support.
9. “Fault” for preclusion of final periodic spousal support in Louisiana could include
unjustified and persistent refusal of sexual intercourse..
10. Divorce has little if any environmental impact.
-2-
QUESTION II
60 per cent of test
II.
1.
2.
3.
Please answer the following fifteen questions.
Which of the following is not essential to a marriage in Louisiana?
A.
Absence of a legal impediment
B.
A marriage ceremony
C.
A marriage license
D.
Free consent of the parties expressed at the ceremony
Which of the following is not a manner in which a marriage terminates?
A.
Court order authorizing spouse of a person presumed dead to remarry
B.
Death of either spouse
C.
Judicial declaration of nullity of an absolutely null marriage
D.
Divorce
Mini-hypo for Question 3: As soon as the parties separated, the husband moved from
Louisiana to Oklahoma. The wife, remaining in Louisiana, was first to file for divorce,
and the Louisiana court quickly gave her an award of interim spousal support. Then the
husband filed for divorce in Oklahoma. In his ex parte Oklahoma divorce, the Oklahoma
court was first to grant a divorce, but no other relief. Which of the following is true:
A.
If shown to the Louisiana court, the Oklahoma judgment will neither
terminate interim support nor prevent the wife from asking the Louisiana
court for final periodic spousal support.
B.
If shown to the Louisiana court, the Oklahoma judgment will terminate
interim support after expiry of six months following the Oklahoma divorce,
-3-
but not prevent the wife from asking the Louisiana court for final periodic
spousal support.
4.
5.
6.
C.
If shown to the Louisiana court, the Oklahoma judgment will terminate
interim support after expiry of six months following the Oklahoma divorce
and prevent the wife from asking the Louisiana court for final periodic
spousal support.
D.
If shown to the Louisiana court, the Oklahoma judgment will only preclude
the wife from obtaining final periodic spousal support in Louisiana.
Which of the following may parties to an antenuptial agreement not do?
A.
Waive interim spousal support
B.
Waive final periodic spousal support
C.
Provide that no property shall be considered community property
D.
Acknowledge paternity of the couple’s child born prior to the marriage
To what types of cases does the rule in Bergeron apply?
A.
Modifications of child custody by agreement
B.
Modifications of decrees of custody considered by the court
C.
Changes in custody arrangements when going from interim custody to
permanent custody
D.
Changes in visitation arrangements
Mini-hypo for Questions 6 and 7: Husband and wife lived together in Zachary (East
Baton Rouge Parish), Louisiana. They separate. He moves to Atlanta (Fulton County),
Georgia. She moves to Memphis (Shelby County), Tennessee. Where may the husband
file for divorce?
A.
East Baton Rouge Parish, Fulton County, or Shelby County
B.
Only in Fulton County, Georgia
-4-
7.
8.
9.
C.
Only in Shelby County, Tennessee
D.
Only in Fulton County or Shelby County
In the above hypothetical, if the wife wants the court to award her the property that the
parties own in Arkansas, in which of the three counties should she file suit?
A.
Only in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
B.
Only in Fulton County, Georgia
C.
Only in Shelby County, Tennessee
D.
Only in Fulton County or Shelby County
Which of the following is not one of the 12 factors Louisiana Civil Code article 134
requires a court to consider in determining custody?
A.
The availability of grandparents or other relatives to provide a support
structure for each of the parties
B.
The capacity and disposition of each party to provide the child with food,
clothing, medical care, and other material needs
C.
The willingness and ability of each party to facilitate and encourage a close
relationship between the child and the other party
D.
The home, school and community history of the child
Which of the following is not a ground for divorce under Article 103?
A.
Living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for the
requisite period of time prior to the filing of the petition.
B.
Living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for the
requisite period of time prior to filing the rule to show cause.
C.
The other spouse has committed adultery.
D.
The other spouse has committed a felony and been sentenced to death or
imprisonment at hard labor.
-5-
10.
11.
12.
Child custody may be awarded to a nonparent only if:
A.
An award to either or both parents would result in substantial harm to the
child.
B.
An award to either or both parents is not in the best interests of the child.
C.
Any time it is shown that the child has been living in a wholesome and
stable environment with the nonparent and that the nonparent can provide
an adequate and stable environment for the child.
D.
Any time one of the parents is deceased and his or her grandparents wish to
share with the living parent joint responsibility for raising the child.
Mini-hypo for Question 11: An unemancipated 17-year-old held a summer job at a cityrun daycare program. The 17-year-old left the children unattended by stepping outside
for a cigarette. In his absence, a two-year-old climbed a ladder propped against the wall,
fell down, hit his head, and died. The mother and father of the 17-year-old are separated.
The father has moved to Texas, and the child resides with the mother in Louisiana. No
custody order has been entered by the court. Who has liability for the negligent tort of the
17-year-old?
A.
The child and the child’s employer, the city
B.
The child, the city and the father
C.
The child, the city and the mother
D.
Just the city
A child born out of wedlock may not be acknowledged in which of the following ways:
A.
By signing the birth certificate
B.
By authentic act for the specific purpose of acknowledgment
C.
By authentic act primarily for some other purpose (as to sell land)
D.
By cohabiting with the mother after birth of the child for more than one
year
-6-
13.
14.
15.
Mini-hypo for Question 13. Two gay males marry in Massachusetts, where such
marriages are legal. One of them then moves to Louisiana. He now wishes a divorce so
he can marry a female. Which of the following is correct?
A.
He can obtain an ex parte divorce after he has been here six months.
B.
He has no option but to return to Massachusetts and file for divorce there.
C.
He can seek an annulment here, along with a declaratory judgment that the
Massachusetts marriage is not entitled to be recognized in this or any other
state including Massachusetts.
D.
He need do nothing, as Louisiana does not recognize such marriages.
If in a divorce child support is awarded for a child who is severely disabled and requires
constant around-the-clock care, the support order in the divorce case:
A.
Continues automatically beyond the child reaching the age of majority
B.
Continues beyond the child reaching majority only if extended by the
divorce court before the child’s reaching majority
C.
Terminates automatically upon the child reaching the age of majority
D.
Continues beyond the child reaching majority only if extended by the
divorce court by order entered within three years after the child reached
majority
Mini-hypo for Question 15: The parties lived in Louisiana. The mother took their
children and moved to Washington (the state). Five months and 29 days after the mother
left Louisiana, the father filed suit in Louisiana, asking custody. Six months and a day
after arriving in Washington, the mother filed suit in Washington, asking custody.
A.
Washington has jurisdiction, as that state is now the home state of the
children.
B.
Louisiana has jurisdiction, and Washington must respect any Louisiana
judgment.
C.
The husband should enter an appearance in the action in Washington.
D.
Washington has jurisdiction under the fourth tier of UCCJEA, as the
children now have significant connections with Washington.
-7-
QUESTION III
Extra credit
1.
In not more than one handwritten page, identify a principle of family law that you feel
needs changing, expanding or abolishing, explaining your proposed change and stating
why you feel this is needed.
-8-