Clients complain to me all the time about how strange Texas Family Law is. Well, to all of those critics, I say take a look at the following weird marriage laws from other U.S. States:
- Montana is the only state in America where BOTH the bride and the groom can use a “proxy” to stand in for them if they cannot be present at their own wedding. (Okay, to be fair – Texas does permit ONE prospective spouse to appear by proxy. See Texas Family Code Section 2.203)
- For a few months, Arkansas law permitted ANYONE under 18 (even infants) to marry if they had parental consent. The state legislators forgot to put in an age minimum! This goof was corrected in April 2008, and we will assume all toddler marriages have since been annulled.
- I double-dare you to divorce me! In Delaware an official legal ground for annulment is that you got married “because of a jest or dare.”
- In Kentucky it is illegal to marry the same person 4 times. You can get married to and divorced from different people, however, as many times as you want.
- Massachusetts has a 2 unusual marriage laws to its credit:
- A married couple may not sleep in the nude in a rented room (what pervy innkeeper keeps an eye on this?); and
- In Truro, MA - A groom-to-be must prove his manliness by hunting and killing either 6 blackbirds or 3 crows. Nothing more manly than a bird hunter!
- In South Carolina, it is a misdemeanor for a man over the age of 16 to propose marriage and not “mean it.” But, I suppose if someone dared the guy to propose, he could always run to Delaware for an annulment…
- In Wichita, Kansas, a woman cannot use her husband’s mistreatment of her mother as a ground for divorce. Good news for guys who hate their mother-in-law.
- Keep those lips to yourself! In Hartford, Connecticut, it is illegal for married couples to kiss on Sunday.
- In New Orleans, Louisiana, it is against the law for a palm reader, fortune teller, or other “mystic” to perform a wedding ceremony. Are they afraid the medium is going to tip off the couple about their future marital problems?
Have questions about our (much more normal!) Texas laws on marriage and divorce? Give The Wright Firm a call at (972) 353-4600 or check us out on the web at www.thewrightlawyers.com!
Original MSN story can be found here: http://glo.msn.com/relationships/10-obscure-marriage-laws-5450.gallery?gt1=49006
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