There are different states all over the U.S which have different legal requirements as per 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. Early in 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States granted homosexuals, both gays, and lesbians the right to get married. But before that year, states were granted the right of legalizing or banning gay marriages. Age requirement also has a place in the marriage laws.
There are so many laws regarding marriage in the United States, but we will talk about the most important ones in this article. U.S Marriage Laws is a great resource to learn about marriage laws in your state.
- You must obtain a marriage license
Before you can be allowed to marry your husband or wife, you first need to get a valid license for yourself 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 a few months or a year immediately after you received the marriage license. After the completion of the license, it will return 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, certificate of death or decree of divorce if needed, and also birth certificate.
- Age laws
In every state, there is a probable age of marriage clearance or authorization, generally 18 years. Mississippi authorizes individuals that are 21 years of age to get married, while in Nebraska, minors of 19 years are cleared to marry. 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 genuine reason why this is allowed in those states.
- Acquiring a marital possession
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.
- Individuals desiring to get married must undergo some blood tests in some states in the US
Recently, a lot of states have abolished blood tests for individuals who want to get married to check for genetic relations. But in Montana and Colombia, this blood test must still be carried out for the women, and in New York, the test is being done for sickle-cell on African-American.
- Laws on the annulment and prohibition of marriages
Many people have the belief that the annulment of marriages is being granted by churches. A church can indeed grant the annulment of a certain marriage. The annulment granted by the church might only annul a marriage spiritually but cannot make the marriage end legally. It is the civil annulment of marriages that legally ends the marriage and every state has its specific laws of annulment and prohibition of marriages.
Along with the restrictions in age, some states legally make marriage arrangements null because of relatives. When there are many spouses, the marriage arrangement can be made legally null; 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 ended legally.
