1. Family law

2. Marriage and Religion Marriage always has a civil aspect—the creation of a legal relationship governed by law and coming with legal benefits and obligations. It can also be a religious sacrament. In all states ministers, etc. have the power to preside over marriages. In Kansas, do not need ANYONE to preside under certain circumstances.

3. Marriage Who can Marry In most states can only get married if  Right age Usually 16 or 17 without parental consent  Relationship Parent-child, siblings, nieces not allowed. Some states allow first cousins. Kansas does not  Two people  Opposite Sex in the majority of states. Active area of debate. Iowa, Mass. and Connecticut allow Gay marriage. Several other states allow Civil Unions.

4. Kansas Marriage Laws In Kansas must be 18 to get married without permission. Are not allowed to get married at all if under 16, except that can get married at 15 under special circumstances. Usually this will only be allowed if the girl is pregnant. 16 or 17 must get permission of both parents or one parent and a judge.

5. Other Pre-Requisites License based on application Waiting period (3 days in Kansas) Blood test (in some states)

6. Who can preside? The following are authorized to be officiating persons: Any currently ordained clergyman or religious authority of any religious denomination or society; Any licentiate of a denominational body or an appointee of any bishop serving as the regular clergyman of any church of the denomination to which the licentiate or appointee belongs, if not restrained from so doing by the discipline of that church or denomination; Any judge or justice of a court of record; Any municipal judge of a city of this state; and Any retired judge or justice of a court of record. The two parties themselves, by mutual declarations that they take each other as husband and wife, in accordance with the customs, rules and regulations of any religious society

7. Benefits of Marriage From the Government  Tax Benefits  Social Security Benefits  Inheritance tax benefits  Joint ownership of marital property  Right to sue as survivor  Elective share under a will  Right to make medical decisions if spouse incapacitated  Right to be in the US

8. Benefits of Marriage From other sources:  Right to participate in insurance plans  Right to other employer-given benefits  Right to visit in hospital  Others  Note, some employers extend to “life partners” already

9. Responsibilities of Marriage Mutual Support  Each is liable for the debts of the other  Each has a responsibility to financially support the other  Each may have responsibility to the other in the event of a divorce

10. Gay Marriage Many states have amended their constitutions or passed laws prohibiting Gay Marriage, although courts in several states have held that denying marital rights to gay couples violates their state Constitution’s equal protection provisions. Cal., Mass., N.H., Vermont, Iowa

11. Interstate Marriage Interstate recognition of marriage: The full faith and credit clause of the US Constitution requires states to honor the records and decrees of other states. Thus, a marriage conducted in one state is valid in another. Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1990s. It purports to give states the discretion not to honor gay marriages from other states if against the state’s public policy. Unclear whether it is unconstitutional.

12. Common Law Marriage Is a marriage without legal ceremony or compliance with marriage statute. Accomplished by two people deciding they are marriage AND Holding themselves out to the public as being married Based on estoppel concepts. If public, creditors and others have treated you as married, can’t take it back when creditor comes to the door. Also applies between spouses. Not recognized in all states. Kansas does recognize. Usually also requires that are together for a particular length of time (although not in Kansas)

13. Marital Property The general rule is that any property acquired by either spouse after the marriage is property of both. Generally speaking, all property acquired by either spouse before the marriage is considered non-marital property. All property acquired after the marriage is considered property of the marriage or marital property. If the property is marital property then the court must “equitably” divide the property in the event of a divorce.

14. Community Property v. Separate Property Some states are community property states. In those states virtually any property acquired during the marriage is joint property. Some state are separate property states. Thus, money from inheritances remain separate property. Generally in either type of state property acquired through the earnings of either spouse belong to both.

15. Prenuptial Agreements Parties to the marriage who come into the marriage with substantial assets or whose wealth is markedly different may enter into a premarital agreement to specify how their property will be dealt with or divided during the marriage, upon death or divorce Such agreements must be in writing and must be voluntary, i.e. not entered into under duress.

16. Kansas Law allows prenups on the following issues: (1) The rights and obligations of each of the parties in any of the property of either, or both; (2) the right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security interest in, mortgage, encumber, dispose of or otherwise manage and control property; (3) the disposition of property upon separation, marital dissolution, death or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event; (4) the modification or elimination of spousal support;

17. Kansas Law allows prenups on the following issues: (5) the making of a will, trust or other arrangement to carry out the provisions of the agreement; (6) the ownership rights in and disposition of the death benefit from a life insurance policy; (7) the choice of law governing the construction of the agreement; and (8) any other matter, including their personal rights and obligations, not in violation of public policy or a statute imposing a criminal penalty.

18. Grounds for Over-Turning a Prenupt A party did not execute the agreement voluntarily; or The agreement was grossly unfair when it was made and, before execution of the agreement, all of the following applied to that party: (A) The party was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party; (B) The party did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing, any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the other party beyond the disclosure provided; and (C) The party did not have, or reasonably could not have had, an adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the other party. If a provision of a premarital agreement modifies or eliminates spousal support and that modification or elimination causes one party to the agreement to be eligible for public support.

19. Annulment An annulment proceeding is used to obtain a court declaration that no legal marriage ever existed. It declares the marriage a nullity. Grounds may be that marriage was void at its inception—bigamy, incest Also may have been voidable.  Marriage was improper, but recognized by the law unless challenged. Underage, as an example. In some states can be annulled if the marriage never consummated or if the marriage was a product of fraud because one party materially misrepresented something fundamental about themselves. Different from religious annulment.

20. Kansas Law KSA 60-1602: Grounds for annulment. (a) The district court shall grant a decree of annulment of any marriage for either of the following grounds: (1) The marriage is void for any reason; or (2) the contract of marriage is voidable because it was induced by fraud. (b) The district court may grant a decree of annulment of any marriage if the contract of marriage was induced by mistake of fact, lack of knowledge of a material fact, or any other reason justifying rescission of a contract of marriage.

21. Divorce A divorce action acknowledges that a valid marriage existed, but the parties now wish to end the marital contract. While some states still require a showing of fault, such as infidelity, abandonment or mental cruelty, most states now offer no-fault divorce. Blame and accusations are not an issue in the proceeding (at least until child custody issues arise). A mere claim of incompatibility is enough.

22. Divorce The issue of whether there should be a divorce is a separate and much simpler issue than child custody or property division. The court may grant the legal divorce early on, but the issues over property and children may take longer to work out.

23. Divorce All states require that a person be a legal resident of the state before they will issue a divorce. Some state have longer residency requirements than others.  Residence means living in the state with the intention of making it your permanent residence.

24. Child Custody Old rule gave presumption to mother. Most states have abandoned in law, but not always in practice Child custody is based on the best interests of the child. Often Parents enter into a parenting plan which they will submit to the court. Courts will typically honor these and they are presumed by the statute to be in the best interests of the child, although the court can overrule the plan if it finds that it would not be in the child’s best interest

25. Custody v. Residence Legal custody and primary residence are different things Custody is the right to make legal decisions regarding the child. Joint custody give both parents rights to make decisions regarding the child. Residence is the primary place where a child lives. Is common for parents to have joint custody but for one of them to be the primary residences while the other gets visitation. Court will only restrict visitation if it finds that one of the parents is a danger to the child. Even then, may order supervised visitation.

26. Making Hard Decisions Factors influencing custody and residence

27. Child Support Parents have a duty to support their children. Once custody and residence are determined the court will enter an order regarding child support. Amount of child support will depend on the custodial arrangement and the financial ability of each parent. Typically support orders require support through age 18 or the end of high school, which ever happens last. By agreement can last longer Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act. Interstate agreement for the enforcement of child support so that an order of support issued in one state can be enforced against a parent living in another.

28. Property Division Some states are community property states. Presumption is that all property owned by either spouse belongs to both and should be divided equally. Some states are separate property states. Property is divided equitably based on a number of factors:  Each party keeps what they had coming in  Marital property is divided based on Need Contributions to the estate Length of marriage Kansas is a community property state.

29. Property Division Unless the property is sold, it must be valued so that the court knows how to set it off against other property. This is easy for stock accounts, etc., but more difficult for businesses and real estate.  Often married couples will sell the marital home and split the proceeds since neither has the cash to buy out the other. As with other matters, the parties often work out an agreement on their own. A valid pre-nuptial agreement may over-ride the community property laws.

30. Alimony/Maintenance/Spousal Support All these terms mean the same thing. Is the requirement that one spouse pay for the support of another. Is separate and apart from property division Is based on the recognition that spouses contribute to marriages in different ways. While one is working, the other may sacrifice career to care for kids and home. Also based on the desire that divorced spouses should not become destitute and ultimately require welfare, etc.

31. Factors to Consider Extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage. The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party. The ability to pay of the supporting party, taking into account the supporting party’s earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living. The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage The obligations and assets, including the separate property of each party The duration of the marriage The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children Age and health of the parties

32. Duration of Alimony Under Kansas law, any support order can last for only 121 months, but can be renewed. Can also be modified if circumstances change, which they also do. Remarriage, Change in supporters ability to pay, change in needs of spouse supported, etc.

33. Adoption In every state, adoption is governed by state law A child who is adopted is treated under he law as if they were the biological child of the adopting parent. Adoption must be approved by the court based on a finding that the adopting parents would be fit parents and the adoption is in the best interests of the child

34. Adoption If natural parent is alive, the parent must consent to the adoption in writing. If the biological parent is a minor, they must have received independent legal counsel as the consequences of their consent to adoption A consent to adoption, except in the case of a step- parent adoption, terminates the parental rights of the biological parents In step-parent adoption, terminates the rights of the absent parent Consent must be given more than 12 hours after birth

35. Adoption Can’t pay natural parent for allowing the adoption. Can pay:  Medical expenses related to pregnancy and birth  Reasonable living expenses while pregnant  Legal fees and fees for adoption agency. Mother can’t consent to give up baby until after birth, yet may often get her expenses paid before hand. If mother backs out, very hard to get that money back.

36. Adoption