1. Marriage
30.1 & 31.1

2. To get legally married, a couple must follow certain steps
1) Blood Test---Most states require a blood test to check for sexually transmitted diseases. PA does not require this! Purpose is to make you aware of any medical issues that may affect your marriage
2) Marriage license---all states require a marriage license. You show proof of your age and then pay a small fee, depending on what county you live in.

3. 3) Waiting Period---After you apply for the license you have to wait for a short period to pick it up. In PA, it's 3 days. Then, you have to wait another 3 days from the time it is issued until you get married.
Q: Why have a waiting period?
4) Wedding ceremony---can be a religious or civil ceremony. Can be conducted by members of the clergy, judges, or justices of the peace. Must be a witness at the ceremony. After the ceremony, you will receive a marriage certificate.

4. II. Legal Aspects of Marriage
Marriage is a contract between two people. It creates legal rights and duties for each party.
In order to be eligible to get married in PA, you must meet these requirements:
1) Must be 18, unless you have parental consent. If you are under 16, you must have court approval.

5. 4) Both parties must give consent
2) Cannot be a close relative-parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew, or cousin.
*Marrying or having sexual relations with a close relative is known as incest.
3) Marriage must only be between two people. Marrying someone who is already married is illegal.
*Having more than one husband or wife is a crime known as bigamy.
4) Both parties must give consent

6. As a rule, if a marriage is legal in one state, it will be recognized as legal in all other states
If a couple goes through a wedding ceremony without meeting the requirements for a legal marriage, the marriage can be annulled.
An annulment is a court order declaring that the marriage never existed. This is different from a divorce! A divorce is a court order that ends a valid marriage.

7. PA grounds for annulment:
Age: the couple were too young to get married
Bigamy: one spouse is already married
Fraud: lied to the spouse about an important matter, such as the desire to have children, or religion, sexual history

8. Incest: related
Lack of consent: parties were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or one party lacked the mental capacity
Impotence: one party is incurably impotent, unless the other party knew about the condition prior to marriage
States can't prohibit marriage between healthy adults without a good reason.