Quiz One Review Sheet Terms

Front 1

Family Law

Back 1

the body of the law that deals with marriage, divorce, custody, adoption, support, paternity, and other domestic relations issues, including matters related to nonmarital family units.

Front 2

Limited Scope Agreement

Back 2

an agreement between an attorney and a client that specifically limits the nature and extend of the professional representation to be provided.

Front 3

Malpractice

Back 3

Intentional or negligent professional misconduct of an attorney that may occur in the form of a failure to properly supervise a paralegal.

Front 4

Attorney Client Privilege

Back 4

the client's right to refuse to disclose and to prevent the attorney from disclosing confidential communications between the client and his or her attorney unless the communication concerns future commission of a serious crime; the privilege is established by statute.

Front 5

Rule of Attorney-Client Confidentiality

Back 5

the duty of an attorney not to reveal any information relating to representation of a client; an ethical rule established in codes of professional conduct.

Front 6

Irreconcilable Differences

Back 6

a no-fault ground for divorce, the essence of which is that the marriage has irreparably broken down due to serious differences between the parties.

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Parental Responsibility

Back 7

Previously Custody

Front 8

Parenting Time

Back 8

Previously Visitation

Front 9

Cohabitation

Back 9

two unmarried people living together, commonly in an intimate relationship

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Marriage

Back 10

a legal status that two people attain by entering a government-approved and regulated contract with each other; a civil contract between a man and a woman or between two partners of the same sex in a state that permits same-sex marriage.

Front 11

Health Care Proxy

Back 11

a document granting another person the authority to make health care decisions for the grantor in the event of his or her incapacity.

Front 12

Durable Power of Attorney

Back 12

a document that grants someone authority to act in the grantor's stead for convenience and/or in the event of incapacity; the authority survives incapacity but terminates on the death of the grantor.

Front 13

Joint Tenant with Right of Survivorship

Back 13

a form of ownership of property by two or more persons in which each tenant owns an identical interest in the property, and each joint tenant has a right of survivorship in the others' share.

Front 14

Cohabitation Agreement

Back 14

an agreement between two unmarried individuals who live or intend to live together, defining their intentions, rights, and obligations with respect to one another while living together and upon termination of their relationship.

Front 15

Palimony

Back 15

a court-ordered allowance paid by one cohabitant to the other after their relationship terminates; recognized in case law in some states, but generally not by statute; a term that originated in the media

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Express Contract

Back 16

A contract that is created by an actual articulated agreement of the parties as to certain terms of their relationship expressed orally or in writing.

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Resulting Trust

Back 17

A trust created by the court when one party contributes funds or services towards the acquisition of property and title to that property is held in the name of another party.

Front 18

Implied-in-fact contract

Back 18

a judicially created contract the existence of which is inferred from the conduct of the parties.

Front 19

Implied Partnership

Back 19

A judicially created partnership, the existence of which is inferred from the conduct of the parties

Front 20

Constructive Trust

Back 20

a trust imposed by the court on an asset of a party who improperly or wrongfully acquired the property

Front 21

Putative Spouse

Back 21

Someone who believes in good faith that their invalid marriage is legally valid

Front 22

Premarital Agreement

Back 22

an agreement made by two persons about to be married defining for themselves their respective rights, duties, and responsibilities in the event their marriage terminates by death, annulment, separation, or divorce.

Front 23

Procedural Fairness

Back 23

fairness in the negotiation and execution of an agreement.

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Substantive Fairness

Back 24

fairness in the specific terms of an agreement

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Second Look Doctrine

Back 25

an approach adopted by some courts to determining enforceability of premarital agreements which involves examining the terms of a premarital agreement for fairness at the time of performance as well as at the time of execution.

Front 26

Ceremonial Marriage

Back 26

a marriage that complies with statutory requirements, such as obtaining a license and having the marriage performed by an authorized person.

Front 27

Covenant Marriage

Back 27

A type of marriage that emphasizes the permanence of marriage and limits the availability of divorce to fault grounds.

Front 28

Expectation Damages

Back 28

compensation awarded for the loss of what a person reasonably anticipated from a contract or transaction that was not completed

Front 29

Reliance Damages

Back 29

Damages awarded to a plaintiff for losses incurred from having acted in reliance on a contract that was breached by the other party

Front 30

Compensatory Damages

Back 30

Damages to make the plantiff whole again

Front 31

Liquidated Damages

Back 31

an amount agreed to in a contract as the measure of damages to be paid by the breaching party to the nonbreaching party

Front 32

Intestate

Back 32

the condition of not having a will

Front 33

Consortium

Back 33

companionship, affection, and, in the case of spouses, sexual relations, that one is entitled to receive from another based on existence of a legally recognized relationship (e.g., husband-wife, parent-child)

Front 34

Civil Union

Back 34

a formal legal status that provides a same-sex couple with the rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities that a married heterosexual couple has under state but not federal law.

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Void

Back 35

invalid and of no legal effect

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Voidable Marriage

Back 36

a marriage capable of being nullified because of a circumstance existing at the time it was established

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Annulment

Back 37

the legal procedure for declaring that a marriage is null and void because of an impediment existing at its inception.

Front 38

Undue Influence

Back 38

the improper use of power or trust in a way that deprives a person of his or her free will and substitutes another's purposes in its place.

Front 39

Fraud

Back 39

a false statement of a material fact with intent that another rely on the statement to his or her detriment

Front 40

Impotence

Back 40

lack of capacity to procreate due to inability to have sexual intercourse or due to incompetent sperm or ova.

Front 41

Burden of Proof

Back 41

the requirement that a party or defendant prove a disputed assertion or charge

- beyond a reasonable doubt

- clear and convincing

- preponderance of Evidence

Front 42

Standing

Back 42

an individuals right to bring a matter before the court and seek relief based on a claim that he or she has a stake in the outcome of the case

Front 43

Bigamy

Back 43

the act of entering a subsequent marriage while a prior marriage of one or both parties is still in effect; a ground for annulment and/or divorce in all 50 states.

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Polygamy

Back 44

the practice of a spouse having more than one spouse at a time; a term that includes both polyandry and polygyny

Front 45

Duress

Back 45

A threat of harm made to compel a person to do something contrary to his or her free will or judgment.

Front 46

Laches

Back 46

unreasonable delay in pursuing a right or claim that prejudices the other party's rights.

Front 47

Consumation

Back 47

making a marriage complete by engaging in sexual intercourse.

Front 48

Equitable Estoppel

Back 48

Preventing a party from asserting a claim or a defense because it would be unfair to an opposing party to do otherwise.

Front 49

Judicial Estoppel

Back 49

an equitable doctrine designed to prevent a party from gaining an unfair advantage over another party by making inconsistent statements on the same issue in different lawsuits.

Front 50

Joint Venture

Back 50

An express or implied agreement to conduct a common enterprise in which the parties have a mutual right of control.

Front 51

Unclean Hands

Back 51

the principle that a party should not be granted relief if he or she has acted unfairly, wrongfully, or illegally

Front 52

Unconscionable

Back 52

so substantially unfair in terms or result as to shock the conscience

Front 53

No-Fault Divorce

Back 53

divorce based on an irremediable breakdown of the marital relationship rather than on the fault of one or both of the parties

Front 54

Legal Separation

Back 54

A judicial decree that allows spouses to live separate and apart without dissolving their legal relationship as husband and wife; sometimes called a limited divorce.

Front 55

Living Separate and apart

Back 55

a no-fault ground for divorce based on the fact that, due to a breakdown of the marriage, the parties have lived apart from each other for a requisite period of time.

Front 56

Fee Agreement

Back 56

A contract between an attorney and a client regarding payment for the attorney's professional services.

Front 57

Collaborative Law

Back 57

an approach to reaching agreements and resolving differences that stresses cooperation, joint problem solving, and the avoidance of litigation.

Front 58

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Back 58

The authority of a court to hear and decide a particular type of claim or controversy

Front 59

Subpoena

Back 59

a document ordering a witness to appear and provide testimony in a legal proceeding such as a deposition, court hearing, or trial

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Personal Jurisdiction

Back 60

The authority of a court to issue and enforce orders binding a particular individual, sometimes called in personam jurisdiction

Front 61

Venue

Back 61

refers to the geographical location within which a particular action should be filed.

Front 62

Recrimination

Back 62

a defense to divorce raised when the defendant alleges the plaintiff has also committed a marital wrong and therefore should not be granted a divorce

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condonation

Back 63

a defense to a divorce complaint claiming the forgiveness of an alleged matrimonial offense

Front 64

Appearance

Back 64

(1) coming into court as a party in a lawsuit (2) a document filed with the court by an attorney indicating that he or she will be representing one of the parties in a matter before the court

Front 65

Summons

Back 65

a formal notice from a court informing a defendant of an action filed against him or her and ordering the defendant to respond and answer the allegations of the plaintiff within a certain period or risk entry of a default judgment

Front 66

Answer

Back 66

a pleading filed by a defendant setting forth the defendant's allegations, defenses, and counterclaims in response to a plaintiff's complaint.

Front 67

Counterclaim

Back 67

A defendants claim against the Plaintiff

Front 68

Affidavit

Back 68

a written statement of facts based on firsthand knowledge, information, or belief and signed by the affiant under pain and penalty of perjury.