Marriage

Question 1

Requirements for Marriage

Answer 1

• license
• ceremony with authorized officiant
• no legal impediments to marriage
• capacity to consent

Question 2

License

Answer 2

• required in most states
• most states require a waiting period between getting the license + having the ceremony
• failure to meet procedural requirements of the license won’t invalidate the marriage though

Question 3

Officiant

Answer 3

• generally, marriage must be solemnized by a ceremony with an authorized officiant
• states vary on who can perform marriage ceremonies

Question 4

Possible Legal Impediments to Marriage

Answer 4

• can’t be too closely related
  -> can’t marry ascendants, descendents, siblings, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew
  -> vary on whether first cousins can marry
• not have a prior undissolved marriage to a living spouse (bigamy)

Question 5

Capacity to Consent

Answer 5

• at the time of the ceremony, parties must have mental ability to consent
• must understand their actions + voluntarily agree to them
  -> someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs may lack the mental capacity to enter into a valid marriage
• marriage may also be subject to attack if one party is induced to marry b/c of fraud, duress, coercion, or force
• age also comes into consideration for consent

Question 6

Age

Answer 6

• both parties must be of the age of majority, usually 18
• a 16 or 17 year old usually needs parental consent to marry, + younger parties require judicial consent

Question 7

Common Law Marriage - Requirements

Answer 7

To be valid, need:
1 - consent to marry (includes having capacity + a lack of legal impediments)
2 - cohabitation
3 - the couple holding themselves out publicly as spouses

Question 8

Common Law Marriage - Additional Details

Answer 8

• no license or ceremony is required
• abolished in most states, BUT if a valid common law marriage is formed under the laws of one state, it will be regarded as a valid marriage in other states (even states that have abolished common law marriages)

Question 9

Marriage by Estoppel

Answer 9

• aka putative marriage
• equitable remedy -> states sometimes use it to protect an innocent party who acted in good faith when entering into an invalid marriage
• in some states, the putative spouse can acquire all the rights of a legal spouse