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Made in Heaven? Marriages may or may not be made in heaven. If you are reading this then you may not agree that marriage is heavenly. Marriage creates a variety of legal rights and duties that may last until divorce, death or beyond. Statutory Marriage in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania statutes provide that no person shall be joined in marriage in the Commonwealth until a marriage license has been obtained. The person issuing the license must be satisfied as to the identity of both of the applicants and any facts necessary to determine whether a legal impediment to the proposed marriage exists (current marriage, disease, blood relationship, legal competency, sanity and sobriety are examples of some impediments). The marriage license is not issued before the third day following the application except in case of emergency or extraordinary circumstances. Common Law Marriage in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania still recognizes this type of marriage even though a number of states have statutorily prohibited Common Law Marriage. Certain evidence must exist for the Court to find a Common Law Marriage exists in Pennsylvania: 1. There must be an express agreement between the parties to assume the relationship of husband and wife. The words of the agreement must be spoken aloud in order to reflect the intention of the parties to enter the marital relationship. 2. The fact that a couple live together and hold themselves out to neighbors, friends and relatives as being husband and wife is evidence that the couple are married. There is some case law that indicates that this evidence may create a presumption of common law marriage where there are no independent witnesses to testify as to whether words of the agreement to marry were spoken out loud and exchanged by the parties. These cases may apply where one party to a common law marriage has died or is otherwise incapable of testifying. It is a layman's myth that common law marriage occurs after the parties have lived together for seven years. The date of the marriage is important for a number of issues in family disputes. For example, marital property is defined as property acquired between the date of the parties' marriage and the date of the parties' separation. Usually, longer terms of marriage and more property produce more disputes over property division. |
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WHAT IS A MARRIAGE? |
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John Wendell Beavers & Associates, P.C., a Pennsylvania Professional Corporation |
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John Wendell Beavers, Esq. John Wendell Beavers & Associates, P.C. (a professional corporation) 1518 Walnut Street, Suite 800 Philadelphia, PA 19102 Phone: 1-215-732-0600 Office Email: trial.lawyer@verizon.net Home Email: jwbesq@comcast.net |