Is he married?

[sethanie]

Hi, I was wondering if my boyfriend is married.

In December 2007 he said "i do" and got a marriage license. He never turned the license back in. The actual time spent together was brief (a few weeks, definately under two months). However, she had medical issues and he put her on his insurance at his work.

He has not known where she is or lived with her for over a year.

He has gotten two opinions so far as to whether he is married or not. Can we get a few more opinions?

Thank you!

 

[dee_dub]

Yes, he's still married.

No, he's not still married.

I think that about covers all the bases.

Seriously, he could only be single, married, divorced, or annulled. If he was married, he's no longer single. If he hasn't gotten a divorce or annulment, he's still married.

 

[sethanie]

well, that was certainly an interesting response!

Would someone else happen to have an opinion based upon the facts I presented?

We've gotten two opinions from two off the clock lawyers:

1. the license was never turned in - one lawyer says that means the marriage never happened despite putting her on his insurance

2. he put her on his insurance - one lawyer says that means she was represented as his spouse, so he is married despide not turning in the license

By the way, this is in Kansas, but the license was obtained in Oklahoma. Yeah, I know, it's getting convoluted!

Thanks!

 

[dee_dub]

The law governing whether he was married or not - which is the only real question - is the law of the jurisdiction in which the marriage occurred, i.e. Oklahoma. Oklahoma statute, title 43, provides that a completed marriage certificate must be turned in to the issuing judge or court not more than 30 days after issuance. A certificate must be turned in "without delay" upon solemnization. Licensees are given 10 days to deliver the license to the minister to perform the marriage ceremony, and the presiding official has 5 days after the ceremony to return the license to the court or judge.

So what happens if the license is not returned on time, or at all? Apparently not much. Under §43-36, "Any person or persons who shall willfully neglect to make such return within the time above required shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each and every offense." As far as I can tell, nothing in the statute says the marriage is void.

So IMHO he was married, notwithstanding the failure to return the license.

I suggest you get a legal opinion from a lawyer on the clock, or talk to the court clerk in the county he got his marriage license from.

 

[sethanie]

Fabulous!

We'll give the court clerk a call and see what we can find out.

I think we both wanted the ease of this "not counting", but I'll feel better when we can get hitched with something in hand that says he's definately a free agent.

Thank you VERY much for giving us a starting point to go from.