oe THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES EXAMINATIONS 0} DECEMBER 2014 CODE AND NAME OF COURSE: LAW3210 FAMILY LAW I (Husband and Wife) DATE AND TIME: DURATION: 2 Hours INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATE: Questions. This paper has 4 Pages and 4 Answer any two (2) questions. Answers may be confined to the law of any jurisdiction in the Commonwealth Caribbean unless the context indicates otherwise. Question 1 Fred and Mary married in June 2000. Mary worked full time and maintained their home, while (7 Fred did not work, nor take much interest in maintaining their home. Their lifestyle was very luxurious, and Fred enjoyed spending a significant amount of money on clothes, shoes, his appearance and cars, x Als 2007, Mary discovered that Fred had been having an adulterous affair with Paula. Paula and Fred had engaged in sexual activity, but not full penetration. Mary moved into the spare ‘bedroom, and has slept there ever since. Although very angry, Mary still loved Fred and did not want to move out of their home. Mary continued to cook and clean for Fred, but they did not communicate at all, and did not socialise together. Fred moved Paula into the home he shared with Mary. Mary, Paula and Fred continued to live in the same house for 2 years. Mary cooked and cleaned for Paula as well as Fred but did not communicate with either, nor did she socialise with them. Mary frequently wrote to her mother explaining how unhappy she was, but how she loved Fred and did not want their relationship to end. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE 2 Zz Page 1 Za¢ oe significantly more than Fred, but Paula is a millionaire, Mary has an extensive tax bill which she will need to pay in 9 months-time. i or SoA Yesterday, Mary decided that she wants to divorce Fred. She seeks your advice on Vv whether she will be able to do so and on what basis (20 marks) ve ah 'b) Mary would like to make a claim for maintenance. Based on what she has told you above, she seeks your advice on which factors the court will consider when deciding the amount of maintenance she would be entitled to (20 marks) ©) Finally, Mary would like to know whether the courts are likely to grant periodic payments or a lump sum amount (10 marks) Rainey Yordstice d epoldly Answer Parts A, B and C Dee. f) wot racalel . Part A Hy ole v He ce. and toord haw - Taura (aged 16) and Denis (aged 18) wish to many. Despite her age Laura has a Ke Kstote Pack meatal iliness which causes her to have the mental opacity of an 8 year old. Lae and Denis ask Paul, a construction worker, to marry them by performing a private ceremony on their favourite beach, Both Laura and Denis? parents disapprove, and A hv Push therefore the details of their upcoming marriage are not published. They attend 4g elias sui gecvicstck ties cal nc as ne Ae leading up to the ceremony, and hope DaSiva ¥ DeSilve that tis willbe sufficient to show to Paul how seriously they are taking their plans to marry, and to convince him to carry out the ceremony. Paul believes that they are ‘very serious about each other, and he performs a ceremony on the beach, after which While he says “I’m pretty sure you are now properly matried”. After the ceremony, Laura WI and Denis both go back to their parents houses, and have never engaged in sexual notte - : in Bf oativity. < * Laura’s mother finds out about the ceremony and while angry, laughs and proclaims v 3h “this is not a real marriage anyway!” S ng Discuss (20 marks) ~ youd tas ie aut For the purposes of this section, assume that Laura and De through with the ceremony, but decided to live together instead. did not go After living together for 10 years, Laura and Denis seek your advice on the legal status of their relationship (10 marks) SN fy bey St 73h ENS ee se, CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Page 2 Heroine prdewtion; Saree Sot tt Proatey a otoaly Daisy and Jan are planning on getting married, and they seek your advice on their rights and obligations during the subsistence of their marriage. Both have high paying Jobs, and are not conce:ned with maintenance during marriage (20 marks) Part C Question 3 Answer Part A and B Part A ‘Compare and critically analyse the approaches which Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad a ree have taken with regards property orders made on the family home (25 ‘ Part B “Maintenance should be the same whether you are in a recognised statutory union or married.” Critically analyse this statement with regards to the approaches adopted in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago (25 marks) Question 4 Answer Parts A, B and C Part A Paul dies leaving $10 million in his bank account which he bequeaths to his two sisters, ‘who are millionaires in their own right. He leaves nothing to Jo, his wife. Jo is distraught and seeks your advice on whether she has any claim to the $10 million. During your meeting with Jo, she informs you that she has been unemployed for the past 5 years due to a mental illness which prevents her working. Further, Jo and Paul were arguing a lot when he drafted his will, and Jo had been arrested three times for assaulting Paul, Jo and Paul did not have any children (25 marks) Part B Mike and Megan divorced in 2010, and Mike was awarded a lump sum payment of $50,000, which represented his share of their assets In 2014, Mike passed away, leaving his entire estate to the local animal shelter. The estate was valued at $100,000, which included the $50,000 lump sum payment which was awarded to him. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Page 3‘Megan has just found out that she is not included in Mike’s will, and seeks your advice on whether she can make a claim for any of the $100,000? (15 marks) Part C Cindy and Peter are married, and have a very violent relationship. One morning Cindy is badly beaten up by Peter. He tells her that when he retums from work, he plans on beating her up again. Cindy decides that she has had enough and no longer wants Peter in their home. Advise Cindy (10 marks) END OF QUESTION PAPER Rae A