UNIT 5: Family Law
Chapter 31
Marriage
Marriage is a relationship that involves
personal, social, economic, legal, & often
religious issues
 More than 90% of all Americans will be
married at some time during their lives
 Marriage is also a contract between two
persons who agree to live together as
husband & wife
 We will be looking at the legal aspects of
marriage – not the moral issues
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In order to get married, a couple must meet
certain legal requirements
 For example, most states have age requirements for
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couples wishing to marry
Usually a woman must be 16 years old & a man 18
years old
In addition, every state forbids marriage between close
relatives
May require a blood test for STD’s
There may be a waiting period which helps insure that
people are serious about getting married
A wedding ceremony can be either religious or civil
Married couples face financial responsibilities
as well as the issue of property ownership &
other decisions such as where to live &
whether to have children
 Sometimes marriages are threatened by
domestic abuse
 Such abuse occurs across the entire spectrum
of relationships & often involves law
enforcement & court intervention
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Getting Married
State law controls the marriage process
 Couples must fulfill certain requirements
before obtaining a legal marriage certificate
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 Couples are required to obtain a marriage license
so that the state has proof of their ages & blood
test results (if needed)
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Marriage laws & requirements exist to ensure
that couples are serious about their
relationship, in an attempt to strengthen
families & reduce the number of divorces
Background—Marriage & the Law
Most state courts uphold marriages even if
the couple fails to follow a technicality (i.e.,
they did not get blood tests)
 Nevertheless, couples should strictly comply
with all local requirements
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With regard to age requirements, if a couple
gets married under the legal age or w/o
parental permission, the marriage usually
becomes valid only when the couple reaches
the required age or later obtains the required
permission
 In most states, the minimum age requirement
can be waived by petitioning the court,
particularly in the case of special
circumstances such as pregnancy
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During the past 30 years, the average age at
which people marry has risen in the U.S.
 At the same time, a larger number of
American children are being born into families
in which their parents are not married
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Simulating Parenthood
Teens tend to romanticize parenthood
 Perhaps the most significant decisions any
couple should make before getting married have
to do with children
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Whether or not both individuals want to have children
How soon they hope to have children
How many children they hope to have
How they will care for & support the children
(i.e., whether both spouses will work outside the home
or one will remain at home to care for the children), &
 How they may approach the issue if they face infertility
Legal Aspects of Marriage
Although marriage requirements may vary from
state to state, a marriage that is legal in one state
is usually recognized in every other state
 When a couple seeks to legally end their
marriage, a divorce takes place
 An annulment, on the other hand, is a court order
that declares that a marriage never legally
existed (if a couple goes through a wedding
ceremony w/o meeting the requirements for a
legal marriage)
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Why do you think states set minimum age
requirements for marriage?
How old do you think someone should be
before getting married?
 Do you think that allowing women to marry at
an earlier age than men is fair?
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 Why or why not?
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Common grounds for annulment include:
 Age – 1 or both spouses were too young to get
married
 Bigamy – 1 spouse was already married
 Fraud – 1 spouse lied to the other about an
important matter, such as the desire to have
children
 Lack of consent – 1 spouse was forced to marry
against his or her will, was too drunk or
incapacitated to understand that a wedding was
taking place, or was insane
Reynolds v. U.S.
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In 1878, George Reynolds, a Mormon living in
Utah, was arrested & charged w/bigamy
At the time, many Mormons regarded plural
marriages as a religious obligation
Some believed that refusal to practice polygamy
when circumstances permitted would lead to
“damnation in the life to come”
Reynolds argued that the anti-bigamy law violated
his constitutional right to freedom of religion
After his conviction, he appealed his case to the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court upheld the anti-bigamy
law
 It ruled that a religious belief cannot justify an
illegal act, Reynolds could believe anything he
wanted, but he could not put into practice a
belief that society condemned
 Today, the Mormon Church condemns
polygamy & excommunicates members who
practice it
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Common-Law Marriage
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A common-law marriage is a union between two
people who decide to forego the standard state
marriage requirements
A couple that engages in a common-law marriage
considers themselves husband & wife & lives
together as a married couple
Some states require that a couple live together for a
certain number of years before a legal marriage is
recognized
If a couple in a common-law marriage decides to
part, they must obtain a legal divorce before they
may remarry
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The following recognize
common-law marriages:
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The District of Columbia
Alabama
Colorado
Georgia
Idaho
Iowa
Kansas
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Montana
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Financial Responsibilities
In the past, the husband was regarded as the
head of the household & the overseer of
finances
 Today, in many states, both spouses are
regarded as equal due to economic & social
changes in our society
 This means that both partners are financially
responsible for the necessities of life & other
purchases either spouse makes
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Many states hold both spouses financially
responsible for necessary family items or
services either of them purchase
 Some states retain the traditional rule that the
husband has a legal duty to provide his wife with
food, clothing, shelter, medical care, & other
necessities
 If the husband fails to provide such essentials,
the wife can purchase the necessary items &
make her husband pay for them
 At the same time in these states, the wife has no
legal duty to pay her husband’s bills
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In addition to the basic necessities, some
courts require the husband to maintain the
family in accordance with his economic
position
 In general, however, a woman cannot obligate
her husband to pay for luxury items bought
without his knowledge
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Property Ownership
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At one time, the law considered a husband & wife
as 1 person
This meant the wife had no property rights
Any $ or property a woman owned before
marriage or acquired during marriage became the
property of her husband
In 1887, states began to pass married women’s
property rights acts that changed the law
These acts gave married women the right to own
& control their own property
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When two people get married their property is
divided into categories known as separate
property & marital property
 Separate property is all property individually owned by
each spouse before the marriage
 Marital property is anything that the couple acquires
during their marriage that they both own
Couples have the choice to combine all of their
property
 State laws & separation agreements determine
who gets marital property if a marriage ends
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Community Property
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9 states have community property systems
 Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New
Mexico, Texas, Washington, & Wisconsin
 These systems, generally derived from French &
Spanish law, usually provide that all property
acquired during the marriage belongs equally to the
husband & wife, no matter who earns or purchases
it
Decisions in a Marriage
Getting married involves many important
decisions
 Some couples decide to write a prenuptial
agreement before they marry that outlines
each spouse's responsibilities in the marriage
 The law very rarely interferes in everyday
family life
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Spouse Abuse
Unfortunately, domestic abuse can happen to
anyone in any relationship
 Generally, spouse abuse is a recurring
incident that can result in a cycle of serious
psychological & physical damage, or even
death
 Counseling, support groups, legal action, &
other services are available for victims of
spouse abuse
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Legal Issues for Single People in
Nontraditional Relationships
Even couples that are not married but living
together are bound by certain legal
responsibilities & constraints
 Same-sex couples face great difficulties in
obtaining the right to marry
 State laws regarding civil unions vary from
state to state
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