Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) Family Law, Conflict of Laws, and the MPT Syllabus

Family Law, Conflict of Laws, and the MPT syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Family Law, Conflict of Laws, and the MPT in Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Family Law

   4 topics

   • Marriage and Its Alternatives
     • Requirements for a valid marriage
     • Common law marriage and putative spouses
     • Premarital agreements
   • Dissolution of Marriage
     • Grounds for divorce and annulment
     • Division of marital property
     • Spousal support (alimony)
   • Child Custody and Support
     • Best interests of the child standard
     • Modification and enforcement of custody
     • Child support guidelines and the UIFSA
   • Parentage and Children
     • Establishing parentage
     • Adoption
     • Termination of parental rights
2. 2

   Conflict of Laws

   3 topics

   • Domicile and Choice-of-Law Theories
     • Domicile and its determination
     • Traditional vested rights approach
     • Most significant relationship and interest analysis
   • Application by Subject Area
     • Torts and contracts choice of law
     • Property and family law issues
     • Substance vs. procedure characterization
   • Recognition of Judgments
     • Full Faith and Credit Clause
     • Recognition of foreign-country judgments
     • Defenses to enforcement
3. 3

   Secured Transactions

   3 topics

   • Scope and Attachment
     • Scope of UCC Article 9
     • Classification of collateral
     • Attachment of the security interest
   • Perfection
     • Methods of perfection (filing, possession, control)
     • Automatic perfection (PMSI)
     • Continuation and termination
   • Priority and Default
     • Priority rules among competing claimants
     • PMSI super-priority
     • Rights and remedies on default
4. 4

   The Multistate Performance Test (MPT)

   4 topics

   • Lawyering Skills Assessed
     • Fact analysis and synthesis
     • Legal analysis and reasoning
     • Recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas
   • The File and the Library
     • Working with the case file (factual materials)
     • Using the library (cases, statutes, regulations)
     • Identifying relevant from irrelevant materials
   • Common Task Types
     • Persuasive briefs and memoranda
     • Objective legal memoranda
     • Client letters and demand letters
     • Contracts, pleadings, and discovery plans
   • Time and Format Management
     • Following task instructions and format conventions
     • Organizing under timed conditions

Family Law, Conflict of Laws, and the MPT flashcards for Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)

19 of 51 cards from the Family Law, Conflict of Laws, and the MPT deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the essential elements required for a valid ceremonial marriage in most U.S. states?

   (1) Legal capacity of both parties (of age, not already married, not too closely related), (2) a license, (3) a ceremony/solemnization by an authorized officiant, and (4) mutual present intent/consent to marry.

2. What three elements establish a valid common-law marriage in the minority of states that still recognize it?

   (1) Present agreement/intent to be married, (2) cohabitation, and (3) holding themselves out publicly as married. No ceremony or license is required.

3. Distinguish a void marriage from a voidable marriage.

   A void marriage is invalid from inception and never legally existed (e.g., bigamy, incest); no decree is needed and anyone can challenge it. A voidable marriage is valid until annulled and can only be challenged by a party during their lifetime (e.g., fraud, duress, nonage, impotence).

4. Under the doctrine of marriage validity, what is the general 'place of celebration' rule?

   A marriage valid where celebrated is valid everywhere, unless it violates a strong public policy of the state with the most significant relationship to the parties (e.g., incest, bigamy, polygamy).

5. What is a putative marriage and what protection does it offer?

   A putative marriage exists when at least one spouse has a good-faith belief the marriage is valid despite an impediment; the good-faith spouse may receive equitable relief such as property division or support as if validly married.

6. What did Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) hold regarding marriage?

   The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses require states to license same-sex marriages and to recognize same-sex marriages lawfully performed in other states.

7. What is the legal effect of a cohabitation agreement between unmarried partners?

   It is generally enforceable as a contract (express or, in many states, implied) so long as consideration is not solely meretricious sexual services; under Marvin v. Marvin courts may enforce property/support agreements between cohabitants.

8. What is the difference between a divorce, an annulment, and a legal separation?

   Divorce dissolves a valid marriage prospectively; annulment declares that no valid marriage ever existed; legal separation keeps the marriage intact but resolves support/property/custody while the parties live apart.

9. What is the basis for 'no-fault' divorce, available in every U.S. state?

   Irreconcilable differences or an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage (and in some states, living separate and apart for a statutory period). No proof of marital misconduct is required.

10. Name the traditional fault-based grounds for divorce.

    Adultery, cruelty (physical or mental), desertion/abandonment, habitual drunkenness or drug addiction, and incurable insanity/imprisonment.

11. List the four traditional defenses to a fault-based divorce.

    (1) Collusion (spouses fabricate grounds), (2) connivance (consent to the misconduct), (3) condonation (forgiveness/resumption of relations), and (4) recrimination (both spouses guilty of a fault ground).

12. What is the difference between equitable distribution and community property systems?

    Equitable distribution (majority) divides marital property fairly/equitably, not necessarily equally, considering many factors. Community property (minority of states) presumptively splits property acquired during marriage 50/50.

13. What distinguishes marital property from separate property in a divorce?

    Marital property is generally that acquired during the marriage by either spouse; separate property is acquired before marriage or during marriage by gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance (and assets traceable to it, absent commingling).

14. What factors do courts weigh when awarding spousal support (alimony)?

    Length of the marriage, standard of living, age and health of the parties, each spouse's income/earning capacity, contributions (including homemaking), and the recipient's need versus the payor's ability to pay.

15. Name the common types of alimony.

    Permanent (lifetime/indefinite), rehabilitative (temporary, to allow self-support), reimbursement (to repay support of the other's education/career), and lump-sum (a fixed total amount).

16. What is the modern primary standard governing child custody decisions?

    The 'best interests of the child,' weighing factors such as the child's needs, each parent's fitness, stability, the child's wishes (if mature), primary caretaker history, and willingness to foster the other parent's relationship.

17. Distinguish legal custody from physical custody.

    Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about the child (education, health, religion). Physical custody is where the child lives and day-to-day care. Either may be sole or joint.

18. What is the predominant model used to calculate child support obligations?

    The income shares model (majority), which estimates the amount parents would have spent on the child if intact and apportions it by each parent's share of combined income; some states use the percentage-of-obligor-income model.

19. Which statute governs interstate jurisdiction in child custody disputes, and what is the key jurisdictional concept?

    The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA); jurisdiction lies in the child's 'home state'—where the child lived with a parent for the 6 months before the proceeding.

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