Which of the following provides the best description of the sequence of stages in the divorce process?

An alternative dispute resolution process in which a neutral third person helps the parties clarify their issues, consider alternatives, and reach a settlement is:

Bert owns homes in Ft. Myers, Florida and San Francisco, California. He stays in Florida from October through May.  He has a car registered in each state and flies back and forth between the two states.  He uses his California address on his tax returns, votes in that state, and has a California driver’s license.  San Francisco can best be described as Bert’s:

The authority of a court to hear a particular kind of case such as a divorce action is called:

Which of the following is NOT a means of establishing personal jurisdiction over a defendant in a divorce action?

Discovery is usually used in family law cases to seek information relating to:

John Almeida has come into a family law office to meet with Attorney Willis.  He is seeking a divorce from his wife of ten years.  Throughout their marriage she has managed all their financial affairs and he has been the primary caretaker of the children.  He suspects that she has several assets including investments, bank accounts, and a pension plan among others.  He wants to find out information about these assets but doesn’t have a lot of money to invest in discovery.  He also doesn’t trust his wife to tell the truth about what she owns.  Attorney Willis is most likely to recommend which of the following formal discovery methods as a cost-effective and useful tool for gathering information that will generate other discovery requests even though it does not provide any opportunity for the requesting party to assess the respondent’s credibility and demeanor as a witness.

Isabella and Roberto are getting a divorce after thirty years of marriage.  They have only two major assets: the marital home and Roberto’s pension plan at the oil company where he has been employed all of his professional life.  Isabella’s attorney wants to learn about the specifics of Roberto’s pension plan.  Which formal discovery method will she most likely employ to obtain that information?

Which of the following is likely to be the most expensive formal discovery method?

Julio is engaged in a bitter divorce action with his wife, Margarita, who has left him for another man.  He is seeking information in a series of discovery requests regarding her HIV status in an attempt to embarrass and expose her.  She will MOST likely do which of the following in an effort to seek assistance from the court?

Sabrina and Gardiner are getting divorced and both of them are committed to continuing to play a major role in the lives of their two minor children.  If they both continue to have an equal say in the major decisions regarding their children such as choice of religious training, schooling, and medical treatment of serious health problems, they will be said to have:

Many states now provide by statute a preference for: 

Ivette and Shawn are getting divorced.  Shawn wants custody of their teenage daughter and Ivette wants custody of their son who has never bonded with his father.  If Shawn has sole custody of the daughter and Ivette has sole custody of their son, the parents will be said to have:

Roberto and Isabella lived in California during their brief four year marriage.  One year ago, they decided to divorce and Isabella moved to Oklahoma with their two year old daughter, Kristina.  They have lived there since that time.  Under the UCCJEA, the priority ground for original jurisdiction in this interstate child custody cases will be:

Rene and Angela had been married for seven years and had a five year old son, Pierre.  When they divorced, Angela was granted physical custody and Rene had “reasonable” visitation rights.  Rene was very unhappy with the custody award and during one of his “visits” took Pierre and returned with him to his native France without the consent of either Angela or the court. Which of the following may be most helpful to Angela whose son has been wrongfully removed from the United States?

Which of the following is currently the dominant standard for making custody determinations in the United States?

Kristen and Derek are engaged in a bitter custody battle in the context of their divorce.  Both of them love and are committed to their one minor child, Jason, who is three years old. Kristen is a hard working corporate executive who has only taken four weeks leave during their marriage.  Derek has been at home taking care of Jason and the family home.  Absent abuse, the family courts in their state grant custody to the parent who has been most involved in the daily care of the child in recent months.  Custody will most likely be awarded to:

The United States Supreme Court held in the Palmore v. Sidoti case that which of the following may not be used as the sole factor in determining what will be in a child’s best interests?

Which of the following factors must be considered by a court making custody decisions in virtually all states?

 Len and Susan have a daughter, Melody.  Susan has physical custody and Len has visitation specified in a parenting plan.  Len is delinquent in his child support payments and often returns Melody to her mother late after visits and on other occasions fails to show up for scheduled visits.  Which of the following is Susan’s lawyer most likely to recommend?

Klara is getting divorced from her husband, Grover, and tells her lawyer that she wants to get enough child support from her ex-husband to buy a new house for their three minor children, herself, and her new boyfriend.  Which of the following will her lawyer NOT tell her?

Jessica has been struggling to support her three year old son.  The boy’s father, Kent, is very inconsistent in making his court-ordered child support payments and has made no payments for six months despite the fact that he earns a regular salary as a fire fighter.  She has contacted an attorney who is likely to tell her that usually the most effective means of enforcing child support orders is which of the following?

A federally mandated Title IV-D Agency provides which of the following services?

In the event of bankruptcy of a spouse owing child support, the child support obligation is:

Which of the following is NOT true with respect to child support?

Andrea wants to seek a deviation in the child support amount resulting from the application of the guidelines.  She thinks her daughter’s father should have to pay a higher amount of child support for all of the following reasons.  Which of the reasons is the court likely to agree with, if any?

 Child support issues arise in which of the following contexts?

Which of the following is true of alimony in the contemporary family law context?

Which of the following statements is TRUE with respect to factors considered by the courts when making alimony decisions?

Under which of the following circumstances would a petition for modification of spousal support by the payor most likely be granted?

Absent a court order, an alimony obligation will usually terminate upon: