Marriage & Divorce

1. Marriage & Divorce

2. Contents • Revision (Death and the Law) • Marriage in the past • Definition • Requirements for a valid marriage • Bars to marriage • Void marriage • Voidable marriage • Divorce in the past and today • Financial and childcare arrangements

3. Suicide • How was suicide treated before 1961? • What is the meaning of the term ignominious burial?

4. Abortion • Pro life or pro choice? • Choose an argument that best describes your attitude towards abortion and write a short argument defending your view

5. Pro life • Since life begins at conception, abortion is akin to murder as it is the act of taking human life. Abortion is in direct defiance of the commonly accepted idea of the sanctity of human life • No civilized society permits one human to intentionally harm or take the life of another human without punishment, and abortion is no different. • Adoption is a viable alternative to abortion and accomplishes the same result.

6. Pro choice • Nearly all abortions take place in the first trimester, when a fetus cannot exist independent of the mother. As it is attached by the placenta and umbilical cord, its health is dependent on her health, and cannot be regarded as a separate entity as it cannot exist outside her womb.

7. Euthanasia • Translate the following: • Both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under English law. Depending on the circumstances, euthanasia is regarded as either manslaughter or murder and is punishable by law with a maximum penalty of up to life imprisonment.  • Assisted suicide is illegal under the terms of the Suicide Act (1961) and is punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment. Attempting to commit suicide is not a criminal act in itself. 

8. Match the term with its definition: • ___________________ – where a person is killed against their expressed wishes • ____________________ is the act of deliberately assisting or encouraging another person who commits, or attempts to commit, suicide. • ___________________ – where a person deliberately intervenes to end someone’s life, for example, by injecting them with sedatives   • ___________________ – where a person causes death by withholding or withdrawing treatment that is necessary to maintain life • ____________________ - where a person makes a conscious decision to die and asks for help to do this • _____________________ – where a person is unable to give their consent

9. The Death Penalty • What is the significance of Ruth Ellis case? • How did Lord Kennet organise his arguments against the death penalty? • What are main arguments of retentionists?

10. Translate the following: • Although the global trend towards abolition remained strong, 2012 saw a disappointing resumption of executions in some countries. The total number of confirmed executions was 682, two more than in 2011. Executions were recorded in 21 countries, the same number as 2011. The number of countries where death sentences were imposed fell from 63 to 58.

11. Marriage

12. Marriage in the past Historically the English Common Law required nothing for the celebration of a marriage beyond the declared agreement of the parties

13. Common-law marriage A marriagethattakes legal effectwithout licence or ceremony; “marriageby habit andrepute” tracesitsroots to theEnglishecclesiasticalcourts, whichuntil 1753 recognized a kindofinformalmarriageknown as sponsaliaperverba de praesenti, whichwasenteredintowithoutceremony Authorizedin 11 statesinthe US as thefullequivalentof a ceremonialmarriage Also: consensualmarriage, informalmarriage

14. The formalities today A marriage must be celebrated in the presence of a clergyman of the Church of England, or (since 1836) of a Registrar of Marriages, or (since 1898) of an ‘authorized person’ Two persons must be present as witnesses

15. Definitions a voluntary union for life of one manandonewoman to theexclusionof all others a contractbaseduponavoluntaryprivateagreementbyamanandawoman to becomehusbandandwife act or state ofbeingjoined as husbandandwife

16. Requirements for a valid marriage Monogamous (not necessarily one man and one woman – same-sex marriage made legal in 2002 in the Netherlands) For life (the intention of both parties must be a union for life, regardless of the availability of divorce) Voluntary (as any other contract, it must be entered into voluntarily, without coercion)

17. Conditions for a valid marriage 1) partieslegallycapableofcontracting to marry 2) mutual consent or agreement 3) anactualcontractintheformprescribedbylaw

18. Bars to marriage Youth (the age of consent; now 18, before 1969 it was 21) Consanguinity (close blood relation)

19. Void marriage Ifeitherparty is undersixteen Ifparties are relatedbyblood: 1. Ascendantsanddescendants, e.g. parentandchild, grandparentandgrandchild 2.Brother andsister, uncleandniece, nephewandaunt 3. Persons who, byreasonofthepreviousmarriageof one ofthem, are related – changedbytheMarriageActof 1986

20. Marriage Act, 1986 A man may marry his stepmother, or a woman her stepfather, provided that the younger person is aged at least 21 and has not at any time before reaching the age of 18 lived as a child of the family of the older person Marriage between in-laws also permitted

21. Bigamy A marriage celebrated between two persons, one of whom is at the time validly married, is void The person who knowingly enters into such a marriage is guilty of bigamy

22. Other types of void marriages Marriages between parties who are not male and female A polygamous marriage entered into outside England and Wales, if either party was at the time domiciled in England and Wales

23. Voidable marriage Valid initially, but may be set aside because of: Lack of due consent Duress (coercion) Mistake as to identity Mental incapacity (unsound mind)

24. Translate the following: • Like any other contract, marriage can be avoided, varied or terminated in certain circumstances. But marriage is not like other contracts known to the law: the rules governing marriage are not determined by the contracting parties, but by the law of the land.

25. Marriage as a contract Marriage is a contract, but it is not like other contracts because: The parties cannot agree on the rules governing marriage The parties cannot agree what is to be regarded as a breach of contract (because it must be for life), nor what compensation should be paid in case of such a breach (a different type of contract regulates this: prenuptial agreement)

26. Vocabulary Ecclesiastical courts – crkveni sudovi Registrar – matičar Coercion (duress) – prisila, prinuda Consent – pristanak, privola Bars to marriage – zapreke braku Consanguinity – krvno srodstvo Dissolution of marriage – razvrgnuće braka

27. Vocabulary II Valid marriage – važeći brak Void marriage – ništavan brak Voidable marriage – poništiv (pobojan) brak Breach of contract – raskid ugovora Prenuptial agreement – predbračni ugovor

28. Comprehension check Complete the following sentences: A mariage entered into under duress is ________________. Bars to marriage are youth and ________________. A valid English marriage must be monogamous, for life and _____________.

29. Divorce

30. Divorce • The legal termination of marriage • Dissolution of marriage • Under English law, the only basis for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of marriage • The official request to a court to end a marriage is called divorce petition

31. Fault divorce • Until 1969, most states required grounds for divorce – the guilty party and the innocent party • In England, divorce would be granted only to the innocent party (petitioner) who could prove that the other party (respondent) committed a matrimonial offence • Largely based on the church (ecclesiastical) law

32. Matrimonial offences • Adultery • Intolerable Cruelty • Desertion

33. “Uncontested” divorce • Both sides deliberately agreed that the wrongful conduct would be claimed – even untruthfully • Perjury – lying under oath

34. No-fault divorce • Available since 1969 • Pioneered in the US by the State of California with the passage of the Family Law Act of 1969 • The Act signed by Governor R. Reagan on September 4, 1969 and became valid on January 1, 1970 • Abolished the old common law for divorce

35. Grounds for no-fault divorce • Less specific reasons, such as incompatibility or irreconcilable differences • The court decides how to divide communal property and who gets custody of the children • If one of the spouses is financially dependent on the other, the court will usually order the other one to pay alimony (AmE) or maintenance (BrE)

36. Elements • Dissolving the marriage – the formal legal process by which the marriage is ended • Financial arrangements – the process of dividing up the marital assets and agreeing on maintenance • Childcare arrangements – the process of deciding who the children of the marriage will live with (residency) and how much contact the non-resident parent will have

37. Dissolving the marriage • Petition for divorce • Acknowledgement of service • Obtain Decree Nisi • Obtain Decree Absolute (after six weeks)

38. Financial arrangements • Apply for Ancillary Relief • Financial disclosure • Negotiation • Obtain financial court order

39. Childcare arrangements • Agreement • Application for residence and/or contact • Investigation • Residency court order

40. Divorce today • In the UK, 40 % of marriages end in divorce • In the USA almost 50 % • Croatia – current statistics show that every fifth marriages ends in divorce

41. Vocabulary • Dissolution of marriage – razvrgnuće braka • To file a divorce petition – podnijeti zahtjev za razvod braka • Petitioner – tužitelj u brakorazvodnoj parnici • Decree of divorce – rješenje o rastavi braka • No fault divorce, uncontested divorce – sporazumni razvod braka

42. Decree Nisi – privremeno rješenje o razvodu braka • Decree Absolute – pravomoćna presuda o razvodu braka • Ancillary relief – financijska pomoć kod razvoda • Financial disclosure – iznošenje podataka o financijama

43. Vocabulary exercise Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word(s) from the list below: grounds, separation, irretrievably, cohabitation, circumstances, respondent, family, relief An action for _________________ or divorce begins by filing a signed and sworn statement with the court indicating that sufficient grounds for ___________ from marriage exist. After the complaint is filed, it is served on the _______________, who has time to file an answer to the complaint. The _____________ court can issue a decree for divorce under a number of _________________. The court will grant a divorce when the marriage is _____________ broken. The parties can also get a divorce when there is no reasonable likelihood that _________________ will resume and the court is satisfied it would not be harsh or contrary to the public interest to grant the divorce on the ____________ requested.

44. Answer key • An action for SEPARATION or divorce begins by filing a signed and sworn statement with the court indicating that sufficient grounds for RELIEF from marriage exist. After the complaint is filed, it is served on the RESPONDENT, who has time to file an answer to the complaint. The FAMILY court can issue a decree for divorce under a number of CIRCUMSTANCES. The court will grant a divorce when the marriage is IRRETRIEVABLY broken. The parties can also get a divorce when there is no reasonable likelihood that COHABITATION will resume and the court is satisfied it would not be harsh or contrary to the public interest to grant the divorce on the GROUNDS requested.

45. Thankyou for yourattention!