1. MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LAW CLU 3M

2. Legal Perspective  Marriage is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments  S 91 of the Constitution Act gives the federal government the jurisdiction over the essentials of marriage and divorce  This is important in order to have consistency throughout all of our provinces (eg same sex marriage is a right throughout Canada)

3.  Provinces are in charge of the solemnization of marriage (marriage ceremonies)  One major flaw with this divide is that the federal government has passed very few pieces of legislation to govern marriages thus we have relied on common law and provincial legislation

4. Essential Requirements of Marriage  There are 6 essential requirements for marriage 1. Capacity – mental and legal ability to marry 2. Minimum age – without parental consent you must be 18 or 19 (depending which province), but can get married younger with parental consent 3. Close Relationships – cannot marry someone who is to closely related (includes blood, and adoption)

5. 4. Genuine Consent – marriage is a contract and thus must be consented to freely (no mistakes or duress) 5. No Prior Marriages – monogamy is the only accepted form of marriage (bigamy is a crime in Canada) 6. Sexual Capacity – valid marriage requires consummation of the marriage – lack of sexual capacity must have existed at the time of the marriage

6.  1999 – Canadian Government passed a law reaffirming marriage as a voluntary union between an man and a woman  2005 – this law was updated to allow same-sex marriages as legal contracts

7.  Marriages can end in one of three ways: 1. Death – when a spouse dies, that terminates the contract 2. Annulment – a court order stating that the two spouses were never legally married (void marriage) 3. Divorce – one or both parties agrees to end the contract (certain conditions must be met)