Marriage

Question 1

What are the four requirements to a valid marriage?

Answer 1

1. License
2. Ceremony with Authorized officiant
3. No legal impediments (can’t be closely related), and
4. Capacity to consent.

Question 2

What is the license requirement for marriage

Answer 2

Following the state laws regarding licensing.

• some states require a physicians report that spouses do not have certain diseases.
• other states have waiting periods that vary 48-72 hours.

Question 3

Ceremony with an Authorized Officiant:

Answer 3

Generally, states require that the marriage be solemnized by a ceremony with an authorized officiant.

Question 4

What constitutes a Legal impediment to marriage?

Answer 4

1. Being too closely related. This usually means: Ascendant, descendant, sibling, aunt/uncle, and niece/nephew.

Note: Some states vary on whether first cousins can marriage.

2. Bigamy: having a prior undissolved marriage to a living spouse (married to another person).

Question 5

Capacity to Consent

Answer 5

Parties must:
1. Be of age (18 or above, or if 16-17, with parent approval), and
2. Have the mental capacity to consent by understanding their actions and voluntarily agreeing with them.

Generally, this occurs when parties are on drugs or overly intoxicated, but may also occur under fraud, duress, coercion, or force.

Question 6

How does common law marriage arise

Answer 6

Must have
1. Consent to marriage

2. cohabitating, and
3. Each holding themselves out as married (calling each other spouses, husband, wife, etc).

Note: no license or ceremony is required and if it is validly formed in one state, a majority of states will recognize it as valid.

Question 7

Marriage by Estoppel or Putative Marriage

Answer 7

Protects a spouse, who acted in good faith when entering into an invalid marriage, and can therefore acquire the rights of legal spouse.

Question 8

True or false: a defective licensing or failure to obtain a valid license will render a marriage void?

Answer 8

False. Although the remaining requirements may render it void, states do not want to invalidate marriages merely for licensing issues.

Question 9

True or False: Each spouse owns and controls the property in their own name, and the title is dispositive in the event of divorce.

Answer 9

False. Although each spouse does own and control property in their own name, that is not dispositive of being “separate” or non-marital property in the event of divorce.

Question 10

What is the obligation to support?

Answer 10

Each spouse has an obligation to support, and under the doctrine of necessaries, the obligation can be invoked to require a spouse to pay for the necessary expenses of another spouse, such as food, clothes, and healthcare.

Question 11

What are the elements of Alienation of Affection?

Answer 11

That a third party merely divert the affection of one spouse so that the other is deprived of a marital relationship.

Question 12

True of False: most states have abolished Alienation of Affection and Criminal Conversation.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

What is Criminal Conversation

Answer 13

When a spouse has sexual relations with a third person, the other spouse may have a cause of action.

Need to only show:
1. a valid marriage, and
2. adultery occurred.

Question 14

True or False: Sexual relations are required for alienation of affection cases?

Answer 14

False. Only required for Criminal Conversation.