Family Law
Chapter 1 -
Chapter Quiz
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
1. The doctrine of marital unity resulted in the loss of a married woman’s civil identity.
2. Under common law, title to a married woman’s real property did not pass to her husband.
3. Under the civil law tradition, wives were fully equal to their husbands.
4. The first Married Women’s Property Acts were passed in response to concerns raised by women’s rights activists.
5. The case of Loving v. Virginia involved a challenge to a state law that prohibited inmates from marrying.
6. All states prohibit marriages between first cousins.
7. The “age of capacity” refers to the minimum age at which a person is legally permitted to get married.
8. The majority rule is that the failure to comply with a technical licensing requirement will not invalidate a marriage.
9. In most states, cohabitation for an extended period of time creates a formal legal status akin to marriage.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. At common law, married women were not entitled to do any of the following except
A. own property.
B. enter into binding contracts.
C. convey realty without the consent of her husband.
D. leave their home state without securing a husband’s written permission.
2. Under the common law marriage tradition, a husband was responsible for his wife’s
A. debts.
B. relatives.
C. education.
D. happiness.
3. All but which of the following states followed the civil law tradition?
A. Texas
B. Tennessee
C. Arizona
D. Nevada
4. The civil law tradition was influenced by
A. Italian and Spanish law.
B. Italian and French law.
C. Spanish and French law.
D. Spanish law only.
5. Starting in the late 1960s, courts began to strike down marriage laws that assigned rights and responsibilities according to gender pursuant to
A. the due process clause.
B. the First Amendment.
C. the equal protection clause.
D. the free exercise clause
6. Most state laws prohibit persons from marrying all but the following:
A. close relatives
B. former felons
C. more than one person at a time
D. a same-sex partner
7. According to the Supreme Court, the right to marry a partner of one’s choosing is protected by
A. the equal protection clause.
B. the due process clause.
C. both A and B
D. neither A nor B.
8. All of the following concerns underlie the ban on polygamy, except
A. the over commitment of financial resources.
B. the sexual coercion of young women.
C. religious considerations.
D. confusion about the family name.
9. In the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court
A. invalidated DOMA.
B. held that states do not have to recognize same-sex marriages entered into in other states.
C. recognized that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry.
D. concluded that same-sex couples are fundamentally different from heterosexual couples.
10. The doctrine of retroactivity
A. is particularly useful to heterosexual cohabiting couples
B. is a concept that may be useful in providing same-sex couples with true marriage equality
C. A & B
D. Neither A or B
11. Establishment of a valid common law marriage typically requires proof of all of the following except
A. that the couple had children together.
B. cohabitation.
C. a mutual agreement to become husband and wife.
D. reputation in the community as husband and wife.
12. Courts traditionally refused to get involved in dissolution disputes between cohabiting couples because
A. they typically do not have many assets.
B. they did not want to appear to be sanctioning nonmarital sexuality.
C. both of the above.
D. neither of the above.
13. Most states
A. treat cohabiting couples in the same manner that they treat married couples.
B. permit same-sex couples to marry.
C. continue to draw a distinction between married and unmarried couples.
D. criminalize cohabitation between unmarried partners.