Marriage is a legal union between two people that requires a license and ceremony in most states. But in a handful of states, if you and your partner have lived together and act like you`re married, you can have what`s called a common-law marriage. It`s not automatic – there are rules you have to follow. But if you do, you can claim many of the financial benefits that a traditional married couple receives. MARRIAGE. A contract concluded in an appropriate form of law, by which a free man and a free woman mutually undertake to live together during their life together, in the union that should exist between husband and wife. The terms free man and free woman in this definition mean not only that they are free and not slaves, but also that they are free from any obstacle to legal marriage. Dig. 23, 2, 1; Ayl.
Adorn. 359; Staircase, Inst. tit. 4, p. 1; Shelford in March and Div. v. 1, s. 1.
2. To enter into a valid marriage, the parties must be willing to enter into contracts, be able to enter into contracts and have actually concluded a contract. 3.-1. You must be ready to contract. Persons who do not have the intellectual legal capacity to enter into a contract cannot therefore legally marry, as idiots, insane and infants; Men under fourteen years of age and women under twelve years of age, and if minors marry before this age, they must have the consent of their parents or guardians. 4. There is no will if the person makes a mistake in the party he or she wanted to espouse; as if Peter, who wants to marry Mary, by a mistake or a mistake of person, actually marries Eliza; but a mistake of fortune, as if a man were to marry a woman whom he considers rich, and finds her poor; or in the capacity to marry a woman whom he considered chaste and whom he found of an opposite character, does not invalidate the marriage, for in these cases the fault is only of a quality or a coincidence and not in the person. Poynt. on Marr. and Div.
Kap. 9. 5. If the marriage is the result of violence or fraud, it is clear that there is no consent; It is therefore void ab initio and may be considered void by any court if its validity can be questioned. 2 Kent, com. 66; Shelf. on Marr. and Div. 199; 2 Hagg. R. 246; 5 Paige, 6:43-2 In general, all sane and mature people are capable of entering into marriage.
However, there are many exceptions to this general rule, the following of which can be listed. 7.-1. The party`s previous marriage to another person who is still alive. 8.-2. Inbreeding or affinity between the parties in the forbidden degree. It seems that descendant or ascendant persons, no matter how distant, cannot legally marry; Such marriages are unnatural; But when we think of safeguards, it is not so easy to establish the degrees prohibited by clear and established principles. Vaugh. 206; S. C. 2 Ventilation.
9. In several United States, marriages are declared invalid to a limited extent. 2 Kent, Com. 79; Empty Poynt. on Marr. and Div. Kap. 7. 9.-3. Impotence, which must exist at the time of marriage and must be incurable.
2 Phillim. Rep. 10; 2 Hagg. Rep. 832. 10-4 adultery. Under Pennsylvania law, if a person is convicted of adultery with another person or divorced from her husband or wife, she cannot later marry the partner of his guilt. This provision is derived from civil law. Poth. Marriage Contr., Part 3, c.
3, art. 7. And the same provision exists in the French Civil Code, art. 298. See 1 Toull. No. 555. 11.-3.
The parties must not only be willing and capable, but must also have concluded a contract in the correct legal form. 12. The common law does not require a special ceremony for a valid marriage. The consent of the parties is all that is necessary, and since marriage is supposed to be a contract jure gentium, this consent is all that is required by natural or public law. If the contract is concluded per verba de presenti or per verba de futuro and subsequently executed, it is a valid marriage that the parties cannot dissolve if they have another jurisdiction; It is not necessary for a clergyman to be present to validate the marriage; the consent of the parties may be given before a judge or simply before witnesses; or has been confessed or acknowledged later, or the marriage may even result from constant cohabitation and a reputation as husband and wife, except in civil actions for adultery or public accusation of bigamy. 1 silk. 119; 4 ridges. 2057; Dougl. 171; Crest. Settle. Case 509; 1 Dow, 148; 2. Dow, p.
482; 4 John. 2; 18 John. R. 346; 6 Binn, p. 405; 1 penn. R. 452; 2 watts, r. 9.
But a promise of marriage at a later date cannot be converted into marriage by any law, although the breach of such a promise is the basis of a claim for damages. 13. In some Länder there are legal provisions in this area. In Maine and Massachusetts, marriage must be solemnized in the presence and consent of a magistrate or preacher of the declared or ordained gospel. 7 Rep. Massachusetts;48 2 Green. Rep. 102. Connecticut law on this subject requires that the marriage be solemnized by a clergyman or magistrate, and requires prior publication of the intention of marriage and parental consent; It imposes a penalty on those who do not comply with its regulations. However, the marriage would likely be considered valid, even if the provisions of the laws were not respected.
Reeve Cathedral. Reports 196, 200, 290. The rule in Pennsylvania is that marriage is valid even if the instructions of the law have not been followed. 2 watts, rep. 9; 1 Comment. S.C. R. 219. The same rule probably applies to New Jersey; 2 Halsted, p. 138; New Hampshire; 2 N.
H. Rep. 268; and Kentucky. 3 marshes. A. 370. In Louisiana, a license must be obtained from the ward judge of the parish where at least one of the parties resides, and the marriage must be solemnized before a priest or minister of a religious sect or a licensed justice of the peace; It must be celebrated in the presence of three adult witnesses, and the solemnization must be signed by the person who contracted the marriage, the parties and the witnesses. Code, sections 101 to 107. Article 89 of the Code states that such marriages are recognized only by law to the extent that they are contracted and solemnly concluded in accordance with the rules prescribed therein. But the law does not annul a marriage that is not preceded by a license and is not supported by a document signed by a number of witnesses and parties, nor does it make such an act the exclusive proof of marriage. The laws relating to forms and ceremonies are a directory for those who have the right to solemnize marriage. 6 R.
L. 470. 14. A marriage contracted in a foreign country, if good there, would generally be considered good in that country, unless it causes injustice or offends morality or violates the established principles and policies of our laws. History, Confl. laws, § 87; Shelf. on M. & D. 140; 1 Boring. 188; 2 bland.
485; 3 John. Cpl. R. 190; 8 Ala. R. 48. 15. Marriage is a contract which, depending on its origin, is intended to last until the death of one of the parties. It is dissolved by death or divorce.
16. In some cases, such as bigamy prosecutions, the common law requires proof of actual marriage to convict the accused. See 6 Conn. R. 446. This rule is very nuanced.
