Complete subject outline

Family Law outline for the bar exam

This outline follows a family through the legal events the MEE asks about: marriage, divorce jurisdiction, property division, spousal support, parentage, child support, custody and adoption. Each module lists the propositions to memorize, an attack sequence, the traps and exceptions, and a short worked application. Family Law is an MEE-only subject today, not one of the seven MBE subjects, but its NextGen status is changing: it appears in NextGen skills-focused questions from July 2026 through February 2028, then becomes a foundational NextGen concept from July 2028 onward, so check your own jurisdiction and administration date before deciding how much weight to give it. Use it as the continuous reference once a first pass through the rule bank by unit is done. Learn the UCCJEA jurisdiction hierarchy in order, because custody essays usually start there and the answer depends on which state has home-state status.

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Family Law outline coverage by unit
Unit	Modules	Propositions
Marriage	1	5
Premarital agreements	1	5
Dissolution	1	5
Property	1	6
Spousal support	1	5
Parentage	1	6
Child support	1	6
Custody	1	6
Custody changes	1	5
Interstate custody	1	6
Interstate support	1	5
Adoption	1	6
Family safety	1	6
Constitutional limits	1	12
Child custody jurisdiction	1	12
Divorce	1	12

01 · Marriage

Validity, common-law marriage, and annulment

Marriage validity depends on capacity, consent, procedure, and public policy, with recognition generally following the law of the place of celebration subject to narrow exceptions.

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Black-letter propositions

Capacity issues include age, existing marriage, mental capacity, prohibited relation, and genuine consent.
A license or solemnization defect may make a marriage voidable or irregular rather than void, depending on statute.
Common-law marriage requires present agreement plus cohabitation and public holding out where recognized; duration alone is insufficient.
A void marriage is invalid from inception; a voidable marriage remains effective until annulled.
Putative-spouse doctrines can protect a good-faith participant.

Attack sequence

1Identify jurisdiction and formation date.

2Test capacity, consent, and formalities.

3Classify void, voidable, or valid.

4Analyze recognition, defenses, and economic consequences.

Traps and exceptions

!Cohabitation alone never creates common-law marriage.

!A marriage invalid where celebrated is not usually cured by moving.

!A technical defect does not always erase marital status.

WORKED APPLICATION

Two adults privately agree they are married and cohabit for years in a state that abolished common-law marriage.

Their agreement and cohabitation do not create marriage in that state, though a valid common-law marriage formed earlier elsewhere may be recognized.

Essay-ready formulationMarriage validity turns on capacity, consent, formal law, and recognition, not relationship duration or personal labels alone.

02 · Premarital agreements

Formation, disclosure, fairness, and modification

Premarital and marital agreements are enforced through governing statutory and contract standards addressing voluntariness, information, form, and permissible terms.

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Black-letter propositions

A premarital agreement ordinarily must be written and signed and becomes effective upon marriage.
Enforcement commonly requires voluntary execution and fair disclosure or valid waiver of financial information.
Timing, counsel, bargaining pressure, and understanding inform voluntariness.
Parties can contract about property and spousal support subject to statutory and public-policy limits, but cannot conclusively determine child support or custody.
Modification or revocation generally requires a signed writing after marriage.

Attack sequence

1Identify agreement type and governing act.

2Check writing, signature, marriage, disclosure, and waiver.

3Analyze voluntariness at execution.

4Classify each term and public-policy limit.

5Assess unconscionability at the legally relevant time.

Traps and exceptions

!An unfavorable bargain is not automatically involuntary.

!A child-related clause cannot displace the child's interests or court authority.

!Independent counsel is important but not always an absolute prerequisite.

WORKED APPLICATION

One party presents an agreement on the wedding morning after hiding major assets and threatening cancellation.

Late presentation, nondisclosure, and coercive circumstances support nonenforcement under voluntariness and disclosure standards.

Essay-ready formulationPremarital agreements require formal execution, voluntary assent, adequate financial knowledge or waiver, and terms within family-law public policy.

03 · Dissolution

Divorce jurisdiction, domicile, recognition, and procedure

A state can dissolve a marriage based on one spouse's domicile, but personal jurisdiction and notice are needed for binding support or property orders.

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Black-letter propositions

Domicile requires presence plus intent to remain and supplies divorce subject-matter power.
An ex parte divorce can terminate marital status with notice but ordinarily cannot impose personal obligations on an absent spouse without personal jurisdiction.
A valid sister-state divorce decree receives full faith and credit, though domicile can be collaterally challenged in limited settings.
No-fault grounds and separation periods depend on statute.
Venue, residency periods, service, temporary orders, and bifurcation follow local procedure.

Attack sequence

1Identify each spouse's domicile.

2Separate status, property, support, and custody jurisdiction.

3Confirm service and personal jurisdiction.

4Analyze recognition and any collateral attack.

5Apply statutory ground and waiting period.

Traps and exceptions

!Residence is not necessarily domicile.

!Power to end status does not create power to order money from an absent spouse.

!Participation in the first divorce case can limit later domicile attack.

WORKED APPLICATION

A domiciled spouse obtains a noticed divorce against a nonresident spouse who has no forum contacts, and the court awards alimony.

The state can end marital status, but the alimony order requires personal jurisdiction and is not binding without it.

Essay-ready formulationDivorce jurisdiction must separate power over marital status from personal obligations, property, custody, and interstate recognition.

04 · Property

Classification, valuation, distribution, and debt

At divorce, a court classifies assets and debts as marital or separate, values them, traces changes, and distributes under community-property or equitable-distribution law.

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Black-letter propositions

Marital property generally includes earnings and acquisitions during marriage; separate property commonly includes premarital assets, gifts, inheritances, and validly excluded property.
Commingling and transmutation can change classification; tracing can preserve a separate component.
Appreciation may be active and marital or passive and separate depending on law and contributions.
Equitable distribution is fair, not necessarily equal, and considers statutory economic and sometimes misconduct factors.
Pensions, businesses, stock compensation, professional practices, tax effects, and hidden assets require valuation and implementation.
Marital debt classification depends on purpose, timing, and benefit.

Attack sequence

1Inventory every asset and debt.

2Classify and trace source and transformation.

3Choose valuation date and method.

4Apply distribution factors.

5Plan transfer, tax, security, and enforcement.

Traps and exceptions

!Title alone does not determine marital classification.

!A degree itself is usually not property, though reimbursement or support may address contributions.

!Property division is ordinarily final and not modifiable like support.

WORKED APPLICATION

A spouse uses inherited funds for a home titled jointly and cannot trace the contribution.

Joint title and failed tracing can support transmutation or marital classification, depending on the governing presumption and proof burden.

Essay-ready formulationProperty division requires asset-by-asset classification, tracing, valuation, factor-based allocation, and enforceable implementation.

05 · Spousal support

Entitlement, amount, duration, modification, and termination

Spousal support balances statutory need, ability, fairness, rehabilitation, and marital circumstances and differs from final property allocation.

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Black-letter propositions

Factors commonly include income, earning capacity, age, health, marriage duration, standard of living, contributions, childcare, and property division.
Support may be temporary, rehabilitative, durational, reimbursement-based, or indefinite.
Modification ordinarily requires a substantial unanticipated change unless agreement or statute makes the term nonmodifiable.
Support commonly terminates at death, and may terminate on remarriage or qualifying cohabitation under local law.
Courts can secure support through insurance, liens, withholding, or contempt subject to ability to pay.

Attack sequence

1Identify support type and legal standard.

2Find need, ability, earning capacity, and duration facts.

3Coordinate property division and tax treatment.

4For modification, compare current facts and decree language.

5Apply termination and enforcement rules.

Traps and exceptions

!Marital fault is not always relevant.

!Voluntary income reduction can support imputation.

!Property division cannot casually be relabeled modifiable support.

WORKED APPLICATION

A supported spouse completes promised training and earns substantially more, while the order permits modification.

The material change can justify reducing or ending rehabilitative support after applying statutory factors and the order's purpose.

Essay-ready formulationSpousal support requires type-specific factor analysis and careful treatment of modification, termination, security, and enforcement.

06 · Parentage

Presumptions, assisted reproduction, and parentage actions

Legal parentage follows presumptions, adjudication, acknowledgment, genetics, intent, and assisted-reproduction statutes rather than biology alone.

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Black-letter propositions

A marital presumption commonly applies to a child born during marriage, subject to rebuttal and time limits.
A valid voluntary acknowledgment can have judgment effect after rescission periods.
Genetic testing informs but does not always decide parentage when estoppel, consent, or assisted reproduction applies.
A consenting spouse or intended parent can be a legal parent under assisted-reproduction law.
Parentage determines support, custody standing, inheritance, and notice rights.
Due process protects established parental relationships and requires notice in qualifying proceedings.

Attack sequence

1Identify every possible parent and legal route.

2Apply presumption, acknowledgment, adjudication, and time limits.

3Use genetic evidence within statutory rules.

4Analyze consent or intent for assisted reproduction.

5State consequences and constitutional protection.

Traps and exceptions

!Biology is important but not universally conclusive.

!A birth certificate alone may not resolve a contested legal status.

!Delay can trigger estoppel or statutory bars.

WORKED APPLICATION

A spouse consented in writing to donor insemination and parented the child for years, then denies parentage after separation.

Assisted-reproduction and estoppel principles strongly support legal parentage despite no genetic connection.

Essay-ready formulationParentage can arise from presumption, acknowledgment, adjudication, genetics, consent, or intent and carries constitutional and financial consequences.

07 · Child support

Guidelines, income, modification, enforcement, and interstate rules

Both legal parents owe support, ordinarily calculated by guidelines and adjusted only through supported deviations.

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Black-letter propositions

Guidelines use income, parenting time, childcare, health costs, other dependents, and specified adjustments.
Courts can impute income for voluntary unemployment or underemployment after considering capacity and good faith.
A deviation requires findings tied to statutory factors and the child's interests.
Modification generally requires material change and is prospective from the authorized date; vested arrears ordinarily cannot be retroactively erased.
Enforcement includes withholding, liens, contempt, interception, license consequences, and interstate UIFSA mechanisms.
Support duration and postsecondary obligations vary by state.

Attack sequence

1Establish legal parentage.

2Calculate guideline income and credits.

3Analyze deviation with findings.

4For modification, identify change, filing date, and order terms.

5Apply arrears and UIFSA enforcement.

Traps and exceptions

!Parents cannot bargain away the child's support right.

!Shared custody does not automatically eliminate support.

!Contempt requires ability and willful noncompliance under governing procedure.

WORKED APPLICATION

Parents privately agree to waive support, but the agreement leaves the child without basic needs.

The court is not bound because support belongs to and protects the child; guideline and best-interest principles control.

Essay-ready formulationChild support follows guideline calculation, justified deviation, prospective modification, protection of arrears, and interstate enforcement.

08 · Custody

Best interests, parenting plans, and constitutional limits

Custody orders allocate legal decision-making and parenting time according to the child's best interests while respecting fit parents' constitutional rights.

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Black-letter propositions

Factors commonly include caregiving history, relationships, needs, stability, health, conflict, cooperation, safety, and sometimes mature preference.
No automatic tender-years or sex preference is constitutional.
Domestic violence and abuse receive special weight, presumptions, and protective planning.
A fit parent's decisions receive special constitutional weight against nonparent claims.
Courts can structure joint or sole decision-making, schedules, exchanges, communication, travel, education, health, and dispute procedures.
A child's attorney, representative, evaluator, or guardian ad litem has jurisdiction-specific roles.

Attack sequence

1Identify each requested form of custody.

2Apply every statutory factor with facts both ways.

3Address safety before ordinary cooperation.

4Respect fit-parent constitutional priority.

5Draft a workable child-centered plan.

Traps and exceptions

!Equal time is not universally presumed.

!A parent's lifestyle is relevant only through child impact and statutory law.

!Best interests cannot be replaced by punishing a parent.

WORKED APPLICATION

A fit parent denies a grandparent's broad visitation request, and the grandparent shows only that visits would be beneficial.

Benefit alone ordinarily cannot overcome the special constitutional weight owed the fit parent's decision; the statute must provide adequate deference and required harm or related showing.

Essay-ready formulationCustody requires factor-based child-centered analysis constrained by fit-parent constitutional rights and concrete safety and implementation planning.

09 · Custody changes

Modification, relocation, enforcement, and parental kidnapping

Postorder custody disputes require the jurisdiction's change threshold, best interests, relocation rules, and interstate enforcement structure.

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Black-letter propositions

Modification commonly requires substantial changed circumstances affecting the child plus best interests, though initial and temporary orders differ.
Relocation statutes examine notice, good faith, child relationships, distance, opportunity, feasibility of contact, costs, and alternatives.
A parent cannot unilaterally modify an order through self-help.
Enforcement can include makeup time, contempt, fees, bonds, and expedited interstate remedies.
The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act and UCCJEA coordinate jurisdiction and enforcement; abduction risk supports preventive measures.

Attack sequence

1Identify existing order and issuing state.

2Apply modification threshold and factors.

3For relocation, analyze purpose, effect, alternatives, and logistics.

4Choose enforcement remedy.

5Assess abduction risk and federal overlay.

Traps and exceptions

!A parent's improved circumstances alone may not be enough without child impact.

!Relocation is not simply a referendum on the moving parent's motive.

!Wrongful removal does not automatically determine final best interests but has serious consequences.

WORKED APPLICATION

A parent with a documented job offer seeks to move 180 miles while the other parent exercises frequent midweek time.

The court should apply relocation factors, including good faith, economic benefit, disruption, travel, alternative schedules, and preservation of the relationship, not assume approval or denial.

Essay-ready formulationCustody modification and relocation require threshold, child-impact, feasibility, safety, and interstate-enforcement analysis.

10 · Interstate custody

UCCJEA jurisdiction and enforcement

The UCCJEA assigns one state primary custody jurisdiction, preserves exclusive continuing authority, and provides expedited enforcement and emergency protection.

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Black-letter propositions

Home state is where the child lived with a parent for six consecutive months immediately before filing, with temporary absences counted; infants use since birth.
Home-state priority generally precedes significant-connection jurisdiction.
The issuing state keeps exclusive continuing jurisdiction until statutory connections end or all parties leave.
Another state modifies only when the issuing state loses or declines jurisdiction and the new state has authority.
Temporary emergency jurisdiction protects a present child threatened with mistreatment or abuse and coordinates with existing orders.
Registration and expedited enforcement facilitate interstate compliance.

Attack sequence

1Build a six-month residence timeline.

2Identify first valid custody commencement.

3Test exclusive continuing jurisdiction.

4Distinguish initial, modification, emergency, and enforcement power.

5Address unjustifiable conduct and court communication.

Traps and exceptions

!Physical presence alone is insufficient for ordinary initial jurisdiction.

!Emergency jurisdiction is temporary unless statutory conversion requirements are met.

!Subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be created by parental agreement.

WORKED APPLICATION

A child lived in State A for years, is taken to State B for two weeks, and a custody case begins there without emergency.

State A remains the home state; State B lacks ordinary initial jurisdiction merely because the child is present.

Essay-ready formulationUCCJEA analysis requires a residence timeline and separation of initial, continuing, modification, emergency, and enforcement jurisdiction.

11 · Interstate support

UIFSA jurisdiction, continuing authority, and enforcement

UIFSA uses one controlling support order, personal-jurisdiction bases, continuing exclusive jurisdiction, registration, and choice-of-law rules.

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Black-letter propositions

A tribunal needs a statutory personal-jurisdiction basis over a nonresident, such as residence, consent, prior residence with child, support in state, or qualifying conception conduct.
The issuing state generally retains continuing exclusive jurisdiction while obligor, obligee, or child remains, or parties consent as statute allows.
A state can register an order for enforcement and, when authorized, modification.
The issuing state's law controls duration and accrued obligation; the enforcing forum applies its procedures.
Direct income withholding and interstate agency cooperation support collection.

Attack sequence

1Identify every order and issuing state.

2Find personal jurisdiction.

3Determine controlling order and continuing authority.

4Classify enforcement versus modification.

5Apply registration defenses and choice of law.

Traps and exceptions

!Custody jurisdiction under UCCJEA does not create support jurisdiction under UIFSA.

!Parties cannot casually move modification power when continuing authority remains.

!A forum cannot shorten the issuing state's support duration through local law.

WORKED APPLICATION

An issuing state still houses the child and obligee, while the obligor moves and seeks modification elsewhere.

The issuing state ordinarily retains continuing exclusive jurisdiction, so the new state can enforce after registration but generally cannot modify without statutory conditions.

Essay-ready formulationUIFSA keeps one controlling order through personal jurisdiction, continuing authority, registration, and issuing-state duration rules.

12 · Adoption

Consent, termination, notice, and finalization

Adoption permanently creates a parent-child relationship and ordinarily requires consent or lawful termination of existing parental rights plus procedural and substantive safeguards.

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Black-letter propositions

Consent requirements, revocation periods, and agency procedures depend on statute.
Parental rights can be terminated for clear and convincing proof of statutory grounds plus required child-interest findings.
Unwed-parent notice and consent rights depend on biology, timely commitment, support, relationship, and registry compliance under governing law.
Indian Child Welfare Act rules can apply to an Indian child, requiring notice, placement preferences, and heightened standards.
Home study, criminal checks, placement supervision, jurisdiction, and final hearing protect the child.
Adoption generally ends prior legal-parent rights and duties, subject to stepparent and statutory exceptions.

Attack sequence

1Identify child, legal parents, proposed adopters, and governing sovereigns.

2Find consent or termination basis.

3Check notice and constitutional opportunity.

4Screen ICWA and interstate compact issues.

5Confirm finalization and legal consequences.

Traps and exceptions

!Best interests alone do not substitute for a termination ground.

!Private agreement cannot bypass required consent and court procedure.

!Failure to identify an Indian child can invalidate process.

WORKED APPLICATION

A biological father promptly registered, supported the pregnancy, and sought custody, but receives no adoption notice.

His timely commitment can create protected notice and consent rights; proceeding without them raises statutory and due-process defects.

Essay-ready formulationAdoption requires valid consent or lawful termination, proper notice, child-protection procedure, and compliance with applicable tribal and interstate law.

13 · Family safety

Domestic violence, protective orders, and child protection

Family-law proceedings must address immediate safety through civil protection, custody safeguards, reporting, evidence, and coordinated jurisdiction.

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Black-letter propositions

Protection orders can restrain contact, exclude an abuser, allocate temporary custody, require surrender of firearms under applicable law, and protect pets or property.
Emergency relief may issue ex parte with prompt notice and hearing consistent with due process.
Domestic violence affects custody presumptions, exchange plans, confidentiality, mediation suitability, and relocation.
Mandatory reporting and child-welfare investigation can operate alongside private custody litigation.
Interstate enforcement gives qualifying protection orders full faith and credit; confidentiality and address-protection rules matter.
Counseling and negotiation must not pressure unsafe joint processes.

Attack sequence

1Screen immediate danger and emergency jurisdiction.

2Identify available temporary relief.

3Plan notice and adversarial hearing.

4Integrate custody, child protection, criminal, and interstate rules.

5Protect confidential location and safe communication.

Traps and exceptions

!Mutual orders without separate findings can violate statute.

!Mediation is not automatically appropriate where coercive control exists.

!Dismissal of a criminal case does not resolve civil protection standards.

WORKED APPLICATION

A parent flees to another state with a child after a documented assault and seeks immediate protection.

The new state can use temporary emergency custody jurisdiction and protection-order authority while coordinating with the home-state court and providing due process.

Essay-ready formulationFamily-safety problems require urgent protection, procedural fairness, custody coordination, and enforceable interstate relief.

14 · Constitutional limits

Constitutional limits on family law: marriage, parental rights, termination, and child-support contempt

States regulate marriage, custody, and support, but the Fourteenth Amendment protects the right to marry, the fundamental right of parents to direct the care and custody of their children, and the fairness of proceedings that can end parental rights or jail a parent.

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Black-letter propositions

The right to marry is of fundamental importance, and a state law that significantly interferes with it receives critical examination of the state interests advanced (Zablocki v. Redhail).
A state statute that bars marriage by persons under a support obligation unless a court approves, on a showing that the support is paid and the children are not likely to become public charges, violates the Equal Protection Clause because it unnecessarily impinges on the right to marry.
A state statute that prevents marriages between persons solely on the basis of racial classifications violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses (Loving v. Virginia).
The Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state (Obergefell v. Hodges).
The Due Process Clause protects parents' fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of their children (Troxel v. Granville).
There is a presumption that fit parents act in their children's best interests, and a court applying a visitation statute that lets any third party petition must give special weight to a fit parent's determination of the child's best interests.
A state visitation statute that permits a court to overturn any decision by a fit custodial parent whenever a third party petitions, based solely on the judge's view of the child's best interest, violates due process as applied.
A state may not presume that unmarried fathers are unsuitable and neglectful parents, and it must give an unwed father a hearing on his fitness, on individualized proof, before removing his children (Stanley v. Illinois).
The denial to unwed fathers of the hearing on fitness given to all other parents whose custody is challenged by the state is a denial of equal protection.
Before a state may sever completely and irrevocably the rights of parents in their natural child, due process requires that the state support its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence, and a fair preponderance standard is unconstitutional (Santosky v. Kramer).
The due process right to fundamentally fair procedures in a state-initiated parental rights termination proceeding does not evaporate because the parents have not been model parents or have lost temporary custody to the state.
The Due Process Clause does not automatically require appointed counsel for an indigent noncustodial parent at a civil contempt hearing on child-support, even if incarceration is possible, if the opposing parent is not represented and the state provides alternative safeguards: notice that ability to pay is critical, a fair opportunity to present and dispute relevant information, and express findings on ability to pay (Turner v. Rogers).

Attack sequence

1Identify the right at stake: marriage, parenting, or freedom from incarceration in a support proceeding.

2For marriage restrictions, ask whether the law significantly interferes with the right to marry and whether it survives critical examination.

3For third-party visitation, ask whether the court gave special weight to a fit parent's decision.

4For termination, ask whether the state proved its allegations by at least clear and convincing evidence.

Traps and exceptions

!Termination of parental rights requires at least clear and convincing evidence, not a preponderance.

!An unwed father cannot be presumed unfit and must get a hearing on fitness.

!Turner v. Rogers does not require counsel in every civil contempt case, but the state must provide substitute safeguards.

WORKED APPLICATION

A state statute allows any person to petition for visitation with a child at any time, and a judge orders visitation with the grandparents over the objection of a fit mother, saying only that visitation would be in the child's best interests.

Under Troxel, the order gives no special weight to the fit mother's decision and effectively presumes visitation is in the child's interest, so applying the statute this way violates her due process right to direct the child's care and custody.

Essay-ready formulationIdentify the fundamental right, state the level of scrutiny or required procedure, and apply the relevant case to the facts.

15 · Child custody jurisdiction

Child-custody jurisdiction: home state, exclusive continuing jurisdiction, emergencies, and enforcement across states

Custody disputes are decided by the child's home state under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and the federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, and other states must enforce a valid order and generally may not modify it.

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Black-letter propositions

Under North Carolina's enactment of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, a court has jurisdiction to make an initial child-custody determination only if one of the statutory bases is met, and that basis is the exclusive jurisdictional basis; physical presence of, or personal jurisdiction over, a party or child is neither necessary nor sufficient.
The state that is the child's home state on the date the proceeding begins, or was the home state within six months before and a parent or person acting as a parent continues to live there, has home-state jurisdiction.
The home state is the state in which the child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the proceeding begins, or for a child under six months old, the state where the child lived from birth, and temporary absences count as part of the period.
A state may make an initial determination on the basis of significant connection when no other state has home-state jurisdiction or the home state has declined jurisdiction as an inconvenient forum, and the child and at least one parent have a significant connection with the state other than mere physical presence and substantial evidence is available there.
A court that has made a child-custody determination consistent with the Act has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction until a court determines that the child, the child's parents and any person acting as a parent no longer have a significant connection with the state and substantial evidence is no longer available there, or until a court determines that the child, the parents and any person acting as a parent no longer reside in the state.
A court of another state may not modify a custody determination unless it has jurisdiction to make an initial determination and the first state determines it no longer has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction or that a court of the second state would be a more convenient forum, or a court determines that the child, parents and persons acting as parents do not presently reside in the first state.
A court has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in the state and has been abandoned, or an emergency requires protecting the child because the child, a sibling or a parent is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.
If there is a prior custody determination entitled to enforcement or a proceeding has begun in a state with jurisdiction, an emergency order must specify a period adequate to allow the person seeking the order to obtain an order from the state with jurisdiction.
A court with jurisdiction may decline to exercise it at any time if it is an inconvenient forum and a court of another state is more appropriate, considering factors that include domestic violence, how long the child has lived outside the state, the distance between courts, the parties' finances, any agreement of the parties, the location of evidence, and each court's ability to decide expeditiously and familiarity with the case.
A court may not exercise jurisdiction if, at the time the proceeding begins, a custody proceeding has been commenced in another state having jurisdiction substantially in conformity with the Act, unless that proceeding has ended or been stayed because the first court is a more convenient forum.
If a court has jurisdiction because a person seeking to invoke it engaged in unjustifiable conduct, the court must decline jurisdiction unless the parents acquiesced, a court of the state otherwise having jurisdiction finds this state more appropriate, or no other state would have jurisdiction, and it must assess the necessary and reasonable expenses against the party who sought jurisdiction.
A court must recognize and enforce a child-custody determination of another state if that court exercised jurisdiction in substantial conformity with the Act and the determination has not been modified in accordance with the Act, and under the federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act the authorities of every state must enforce according to its terms, and may not modify except as provided, a custody determination made consistently with that statute.

Attack sequence

1Determine the child's home state as of the date the proceeding begins, counting six consecutive months and temporary absences.

2If the home state has not made an order, check whether it declined jurisdiction and whether significant connection jurisdiction applies.

3If an earlier order exists, ask which state has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction.

4For an emergency, ask whether the child is present in the state and threatened, and remember that the order is temporary.

Traps and exceptions

!Physical presence of the child in a state does not by itself give it jurisdiction to decide custody.

!A state that made the first order keeps exclusive, continuing jurisdiction even after the child moves, as long as a parent still lives there.

!An emergency order is temporary and is a bridge to the state with jurisdiction.

WORKED APPLICATION

A child lived with her mother in Ohio for two years. In June the mother moves with the child to Texas and files a custody petition in Texas in July. The father still lives in Ohio.

Ohio was the child's home state within six months before the Texas filing and a parent continues to live there, so Ohio has home-state jurisdiction and Texas does not, absent Ohio declining jurisdiction.

Essay-ready formulationFind the home state, apply the priority of home-state jurisdiction, check for existing orders and exclusive continuing jurisdiction, and address emergencies, inconvenient forum, and enforcement.

16 · Divorce

Dividing property and awarding alimony at divorce: marital versus separate property (North Carolina as the model)

At divorce most states divide marital property and leave separate property with its owner, and the exact rules vary by state; North Carolina's statute is a clear example of equitable distribution with an equal-division starting point, and of an alimony rule that turns on dependency and fault.

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Black-letter propositions

In an equitable distribution state, upon application of a party the court determines what is marital property and divisible property and provides for an equitable distribution of it between the parties.
Under the North Carolina statute, marital property is all real and personal property acquired by either or both spouses during the marriage and before the date of separation and presently owned, except separate property and divisible property, and it includes vested and nonvested pension and retirement rights.
It is presumed that all property acquired after the date of marriage and before the date of separation is marital property, and it is presumed that real property held as tenants by the entirety and acquired in that period is marital property, and either presumption may be rebutted by the greater weight of the evidence.
Separate property is property acquired by a spouse before the marriage or acquired by devise, descent or gift during the marriage.
Property acquired in exchange for separate property remains separate property whether title is in one or both names, and the increase in value of separate property and income derived from it are separate property.
Property, other than real property, acquired by gift from the other spouse during the marriage is separate property only if that intent is expressly stated in writing, and real property so acquired is separate only if the intent is stated in a written agreement separate from the conveyance.
Divisible property includes appreciation and diminution in value of marital property after separation and before distribution, except that resulting from a spouse's postseparation actions, and it includes passive income from marital property received after separation.
There is to be an equal division of the net value of marital and divisible property unless the court determines that an equal division is not equitable, in which case it divides the property equitably after considering listed factors.
The factors include the income, property and liabilities of each party, the duration of the marriage and the parties' ages and health, the need of a custodial parent to occupy the marital residence, and each spouse's contributions to the acquisition of marital property, including as a homemaker.
Other factors include a spouse's contributions to educate or develop the career potential of the other, any direct contribution to an increase in the value of separate property, the tax consequences, and acts of a party to waste or neglect marital property after separation.
In North Carolina, a court awards alimony to a dependent spouse if it finds that one spouse is dependent, the other is a supporting spouse, and an award is equitable after considering all relevant factors.
In North Carolina, if the dependent spouse participated in an act of illicit sexual behavior during the marriage and before or on the date of separation the court may not award alimony, and if the supporting spouse did so the court must order alimony to a dependent spouse, and an act condoned by the other party is not considered.

Attack sequence

1Classify each asset as marital, separate, or divisible as of the date of marriage and the date of separation.

2Apply the presumption that property acquired during the marriage and before separation is marital, and ask whether it has been rebutted.

3Start from an equal division and ask whether an equal division is inequitable under the statutory factors.

4For alimony, identify a dependent spouse and a supporting spouse and check the statute's fault rules.

Traps and exceptions

!A gift or inheritance to one spouse is separate property, but a gift from one spouse to the other needs an express written statement of intent to be separate.

!The increase in value of separate property is separate, and only a spouse's direct contribution to that increase is a factor in the division.

!Rules differ by state, so an answer under a community property or equitable distribution rule depends on which jurisdiction governs.

WORKED APPLICATION

Before marrying, a wife owns a house. During the marriage her husband pays part of the mortgage from his earnings, and the house rises in value. The couple separates and files for divorce.

The house was acquired before the marriage and is the wife's separate property, and its increase in value is also separate. The husband's mortgage payments are a factor in the division, but they do not convert the house into marital property under this statute.

Essay-ready formulationSay which state's law governs, classify the property, apply the presumption and the equal-division starting point, discuss the factors that may justify an unequal division, and address alimony.

QUICK ANSWERS

What NCBE lists for Family Law

What marriage topics are in NCBE's July 2028 Family Law outline?+

Limitations on who may marry, procedural requirements, state-of-mind requirements, common-law marriage and the putative-spouse doctrine, void and voidable marriages, and interstate recognition.

What does the bigamy topic fall under?+

Limitations on who may marry, which NCBE says includes the prohibition of bigamy and awareness of jurisdictional variations in age and consanguinity restrictions.

What does the outline say about void and voidable marriages?+

It includes the grounds for voiding or annulling marriages and the legal difference between the terms void and voidable.

What separation and dissolution topics does NCBE list?+

Grounds, jurisdiction, and preliminary and interlocutory orders or agreements, among others in NCBE's outline for use beginning with the July 2028 administration.

What does the grounds topic cover?+

The differences between separation and divorce and between fault-based and no-fault divorce, including how fault and interpersonal violence matter where fault is still considered.

Which uniform acts does the jurisdiction topic name?+

The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.

Does Family Law overlap with other subject outlines?+

Yes. NCBE notes overlaps with the Constitutional Law outline on the right to marry, the Contracts outline on invalidation of agreements, and Civil Procedure on jurisdiction and service.

Does the size of a topic in the outline show how often it is tested?+

No. NCBE says that if a topic's scope is described, that does not indicate greater importance or testing frequency.

SOURCE DESK

Official NCBE sources

NCBE: MEE subject matter outline↗NCBE: NextGen UBE content scope↗NCBE: NextGen family law outline (July 2028)↗

Governing text

Custody, support and marital-property rules come largely from state statutes modelled on uniform acts, which the Uniform Law Commission catalogs. Uniform family-law acts (Uniform Law Commission) ↗