Family Law Test 1 Practice Questions with Answers

family law Body of law that defines relationships, rights, and duties in the formation, ongoing existence, and dissolution of marriage and other family units. What are five major developments that are affecting the practice of family law in the 21st century? 1. Equality of the sexes 2. Increased federalization of family law 3. Expanding role of contracts, 4. Scientific advances in childbearing 5. Deregulation of sexuality. What are some of the changes in family-law terminology and why have such changes been made? 1. Dissolution instead of divorce 2. Spousal support instead of alimony 3. Caregiver instead of custodian. 4. To accommodate changes in family law, many states are using newer terminology. When working on family-law cases, what are some major areas of law that could be involved? Criminal law, contract law, tax law, estate law, etc. What are some of the major roles that paralegals play in the practice of family law? Interviewing clients, maintaining case files, preparing financial statements, and assisting in discovery and trial etc. What is a bias and when can a paralegal's bias affect performance on case assignments? A bias is a prejudice for or against something or someone. A paralegal's bias towards a client or a situation can affect performance on case assignments when they cannot think objectively because of said bias. To what extent is violence a concern in the practice of family law? The cases handled in family law are usually emotionally charged which can cause tensions to run high between clients, family members, and even between parties and opposing counsel. These tensions can sometimes lead to violence. What is a cause of action? A legally acceptable reason for bringing a lawsuit. What is a heart-balm action? An action based on the loss of love and relationship. Ex.-Breach of promise to marry, alienation of affections, and seduction. What is the distinction between compensatory and expectation damages? How do they differ from punitive damages? Compensatory damages is about money being paid to restore an injured party to the position that they were in before the injury or loss while expectation damages has do with money being compensated for the loss of what was reasonably anticipated from a contract that was not performed. Punitive damages are added to compensatory damages in order to punish malicious, outrageous, or reckless conduct and to deter similar conduct in the future. What is specific performance? Solution for breach of contact that required the wrongdoing party to complete the promised contract