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Difference between revisions of "Married Spouses and the Law on Marriage"
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Married Spouses and the Law on Marriage (view source)
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A voidable marriage is a marriage that is potentially void but remains valid until an application is made to the court for an annulment, a declaration that the marriage is void. A marriage may be invalid and annulled if: | A voidable marriage is a marriage that is potentially void but remains valid until an application is made to the court for an annulment, a declaration that the marriage is void. A marriage may be invalid and annulled if: | ||
*the spouses were over seven years of age, but a female spouse was under the age of 12 or a male spouse was under the age of 14 (the old common-law ages of puberty), | |||
*one or both of the spouses did not consent to the marriage or were under duress or some other kind of coercion when they married, | |||
*a male spouse is impotent or a female spouse is sterile going into the marriage, | |||
*the marriage cannot be consummated, | |||
*the marriage was a sham, or | |||
*one or both of the spouses agreed to marry as a result of fraud or misrepresentation. | |||
You must make an application to court for an ''annulment'', a judicial declaration that your marriage is void. Without that declaration, your marriage will remain legal and binding. The court may refuse to cancel a marriage that is voidable. | You must make an application to court for an ''annulment'', a judicial declaration that your marriage is void. Without that declaration, your marriage will remain legal and binding. The court may refuse to cancel a marriage that is voidable. | ||
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===Misrepresentation and fraud=== | ===Misrepresentation and fraud=== | ||
Fraud and misrepresentation, terms found in the law of contracts, may also make a marriage voidable. If misrepresentation is claimed, the deception must usually be as to identity or some other material fact about the marriage itself, rather than about something like income or social <span class="noglossary">standing</span>. A classic case of fraud and misrepresentation involved the marriage of a woman to the identical twin of the man whom she had been dating and had intended to marry; the marriage was declared void on the wife's application once the deception was discovered. | Fraud and misrepresentation, terms found in the law of contracts, may also make a marriage voidable. If misrepresentation is claimed, the deception must usually be as to the identity of one of the spouses or some other material fact about the marriage itself, rather than about something like income or social <span class="noglossary">standing</span>. A classic case of fraud and misrepresentation involved the marriage of a woman to the identical twin of the man whom she had been dating and had intended to marry; the marriage was declared void on the wife's application once the deception was discovered. | ||
===Capacity to reproduce=== | ===Capacity to reproduce=== | ||
