Different states around the world have different legal requirements for marriage. Some of the details included in the laws of marriage are ways in which a marriage license can be obtained, the requirements for getting a license for marriage, even the big-picture problem like “who is allowed to marry whom” is also included. In the year 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States granted gays and lesbians the right to get married. But before that year, states were granted the opportunity of legalizing or banning gay marriages. Age requirement also has a place in the marriage laws.
There are so many u.s marriage laws but we will mention just a few of the important ones. Now, let us talk about these laws one after the other.
- Obtain a license for marriage
Before you can be cleared to marry the person of your dreams, the first step you will require to take is to get yourself a marriage license (valid) from the office of the clerk in your county. As we have said earlier, different states have different laws. In some states, their law states that you are allowed to marry your lover just within some months or a year immediately after you received the marriage license. After the license has been signed and completed, it will be taken back to the office of the clerk within a designated period. While applying for a license, each of them will be required to come along with a valid photo I.D, birth certificate, and also certificate of death or decree of divorce if needed.
- Blood test
In recent years, many states have stopped running blood tests for spouses-to-be to check for genetic relations. But, Montana and Colombia still run this test for the females, while New York runs tests for sickle-cell on African-American.
- Minors
Every state has its probable age of marriage clearance or authorization, generally 18. Mississippi accepts 21 years of age, while Nebraska accepts 19. There are a limited number of people who have not yet gotten to the age of marriage authorization who can still be granted an allowance to get married. This limited number of individuals will be allowed to get married only with the consent of their parents. In some states, male children aged 14 and girls that are 12 years of age are being allowed to get married under the consent of their parents. There will surely be a tangible reason why this is allowed in those states.
- Laws about the prohibition of marriages
Along with the restrictions in age, many states have prohibited the arrangement of some specific marriages. Some states prohibit marriage arrangements because of relatives. When there are many spouses, the marriage arrangement can be annulled or prohibited; marriages can be annulled if they are entered through illegal processes or fraud. If there is any marriage that is being held without abiding by these laws will be annulled. To annul a marriage is not the same as divorce. If a marriage is to be annulled, the court will make it legally null as if the marriage never happened; after all, the marriage is not valid in the first place.
- Laws of marital property
Almost the whole possessions or properties that have purchased by any of the spouses during the marriage will be rendered a marital property. When the married mates get a legal divorce according to the law of the state, the marital property will be shared between the two individuals. Many states put a lot of things into consideration before splitting or sharing the properties, for example, they check the financial needs of each party, they consider how long the marriage has lasted, they consider what each party earns, they check if there are children to be taken care of, and more.
Just a few numbers of states usually follow a particular theory which states that any marital property and debt should be shared equally between the two parties. Some other states which follow this theory include Idaho, Texas, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico, Nevada, Washington DC, New Mexico, and Louisiana.
These are some of the important marriage laws.
