1. MARRIAGE LAW

2. 1. How do you get Married? a. Requirements vary between states b. Blood Test i. Inform couples about each other’s potential medical problems ii. Not required in IL

3. c. Marriage License i. Official record of their marriage ii. IL: Must be obtained at least 1 day before the actual marriage

4. iii. IL: expires 60 days after issued if don’t go through with it iv. Fee ranges from $15 to $30

5. d. Waiting Period i. Sometimes waiting period is between application and receipt of license ii. Sometimes waiting period is between receiving the license and getting married

6. 1. IL only has the second iii. Purpose is to prevent people from getting married impulsively 1. No wait in Las Vegas

7. e. Ceremony i. Must be performed by an official 1. can be civil official (judge) or religious official (priest) 2. Must be in front of at least one witness

8. 3. No other requirements by law 2. Who can get married? a. Age

9. i. In all states, you must be between 16 and 18 to marry without parental consent 1. IL: 18 2. Some states allow couple to get married under legal age if girl is pregnant

10. b. Blood Relationship i. No state allows marriage between immediate relatives 1. Some states allow marriage between first cousins 2. IL: only if you are over 50 years old

11. c. Number of People i. Marriage can only be between two people ii. Can only be married to one person at a time

12. d. Gender i. Marriage can only be between a man and a woman in all states except Massachusetts ii. Many countries in Europe and Canada allow same sex marriages

13. iii. CT and VT have Civil Unions 1. Almost identical to marriage, just a different name 2. Like milk co.’s don’t want soy co’s to use soy “milk”

14. e. Consent i. Both people have to be in full agreement

15. 3. How can you end a marriage? 3. How can you end a marriage? a. Annulment: court order saying the marriage never took place a. Annulment: court order saying the marriage never took place i. grounds for vary between states i. grounds for vary between states

16. ii. IL: ii. IL: 1. consent 1. consent a. usually applies if one person was too drunk a. usually applies if one person was too drunk 2. inability to consummate 2. inability to consummate a. if one spouse is impotent and didn’t inform the other a. if one spouse is impotent and didn’t inform the other

17. 3. breaking any of the above rules 3. breaking any of the above rules b. Divorce: court order that ends a valid marriage b. Divorce: court order that ends a valid marriage

18. 4. What is always NOT allowed? a. Polygamy: having more than one wife b. Incest: marrying or having sexual relations with a close relative c. Fraud: one spouse lies to the other about an important factor

19. 5. Alternative forms of marriage a. Civil Unions b. Common Law Marriage: couple lives together as if married, but without an official marriage (license, ceremony, witness)

20. i. Must live together for a certain number of years ii. Some protection if relationship were to end, divide up assets etc. iii. Only allowed in 14 states & DC – Not IL