PRESUMPTIONS OF MARRIAGE Flashcards
When will the law presume a couple to be married?
If they live together, believes they are married and present themselves as such then the law will often presume they are married
Where is the statue for presumption of marriage?
s7 CIVIL EVIDENCE ACT 1995
How can the presumption be rebutted?
By anyone who can bring evidence that supports a claim that the couple is not married
Why isn’t the burden of proof on the couple?
- > Couple shouldn’t have to suffer disadvantages without clear evidence
- > Evidence is normally that they don’t appear on marriage register
When does the presumption most often apply?
Marriages that were a long time ago or abroad, whereby it won’t show on register
Case where presumption of marriage was denied
MARTIN v MYERS 2004
Why was presumption denied in MARTIN v MYERS 2004?
- Couple had never been abroad
- That, in conjunction with absence of marriage from register = sufficient to rebut presumption
What was the difference in AM v AM 2001?
- 12y cohabiting, originally from Middle East but travelled a LOT
- Regarded as married, and due to the extreme difficulty of proving they weren’t, was held they were
What do the courts strictly require about cohabitation?
1) Lengthy -> Dukali v Lamrani 2012, 8 years wasn’t enough
2) Consistent -> Al-Saedy v Musawi 2010
What is another common form of evidence that rebuts the presumption of marriage?
If the marriage is found to no to be a legal marriage, but the longer the cohabitation the stronger the evidence must be
Which case drew distinction between cases where there are doubts over validity of a ceremony vs there being little evidence of ceremony but couple thought themselves married
PAZPENA DE VIRE 2001
What is the difference established in PAZPENA DE VIRE 2001?
- > If there was a ceremony, must be proved beyond all reasonable doubt that it was invalid
- > No ceremony, only needs firm evidence
